Up to 18 feared dead as ship capsizes off Norway

Rescuers searching waters off the Norwegian coast found one more body today from a capsized cargo ship in a shallow fjord where…

Rescuers searching waters off the Norwegian coast found one more body today from a capsized cargo ship in a shallow fjord where 18 of the mainly Filipino crew were feared to have died.

The find lifted the confirmed death toll to three, with 15 more missing in the freezing North Sea a day after the unexplained accident just a short distance from shore.

Twelve survived - three after being trapped for almost seven hours inside the hull of the upturned vessel Rocknesnear the western port of Bergen.

The trapped men had been heard knocking and shouting from inside, prompting rescuers to cut a hole in the hull. The crew members passed scribbled notes through a small opening, one reading: "Hurry up, my friend is dying."

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But rescuers said there had been no signs of life from within the 166-metre  ship overnight or today.

"At this moment, I don't think we can find more survivors in the ship," said Bergen police spokesman Mr Trygve Hillestad. "There is no hope for people in the water, it's very cold, around minus six degrees Celsius."

The last body was found this morning about six kilometers north of where the ship capsized in the narrow Raune fjord shortly after leaving Bergen, officials said.