Sunken ship death toll at 11

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.

That brings the presumed death toll to 11.

High winds and rough seas hindered the search. Icy conditions made survival virtually impossible.

“Given the water temperature and the amount of time that’s passed, we don’t have any hope for more survivors,” Peter Westenburg of the Dutch Coast Guard said. Four bodies were found on Wednesday, and 13 survivors rescued. A fifth body was found and retrieved yesterday by a Belgian government helicopter.

The 148m Baltic Ace sank after colliding with the 134m container ship Corvus J in darkness off the coast of the southern Netherlands.