Rescuers gave up hope of finding any more survivors from a cargo ship that sank in the frigid North Sea off the Dutch coast, saying they are searching for the bodies of six crewmen still missing.

The Dutch coastguard is today resuming the search for seven missing crew members of a sunken cargo ship after a collision in the North Sea last night – but accepted the search is only to recover the bodies.

A helicopter carrying 17 people crashed into the North Sea near the Dutch port of Den Helder but rescuers managed to pull everyone out of the wreckage and the water, a Coast Guard official said.