6 Filipinos missing as Danish cargo ship sinks off Indonesia

Indonesia rescuers approach a sunken freighter MV Thorco Cloud in the Singapore Strait off the Indonesian island of Batam, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015. The freighter sank after colliding with a tanker on Wednesday. Rescuers have saved six crewmen from choppy waters while six others are still missing. AP PHOTO/PANGESTU

UPDATE: Four Filipinos are still missing while 6 have been rescued. Some 100 rescuers are still searching the collision are for the missing.

BATAM, Indonesia — Officials said six Filipino crewmen are missing after their cargo ship collided with a chemical tanker and sank near Indonesia. Six other crewmembers were rescued.

Batam port official Gajah Rooseno said Thursday the Danish cargo ship Thorco Cloud collided with the chemical tanker Stolt Commitment about 13 kilometers (8 miles) off Indonesia’s Batam island late Wednesday.

Rooseno said the cargo ship had 12 crewmen from Ukraine and the Philippines and was operated by Copenhagen-based Thorco Shipping. He said the collision with the tanker operated by Stolt Tankers ripped a large hole below the water line on the cargo ship, causing it to sink.

The survivors were taken to a hospital in Singapore. Indonesian rescuers are searching for the six missing crewmen.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.

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