COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Danish authorities on Tuesday charged a 30-year-old British seaman with negligent manslaughter over a fatal cargo ship collision last year, with the “particularly aggravating” factor that the suspect was allegedly drunk on his watch.
Two crew members of the Danish-flagged Karin Høj were killed after the freighter collided on Dec. 13 with the British Scot Carrier in the Baltic Sea off southern Sweden and capsized, without sinking. The British seaman, who has not been named, was the duty mate on the Scot Carrier, according to Danish authorities.
The Briton was also charged with failing to provide help or assistance to the Karin Høj’s crew. He was arrested just after the collision by Swedish police and extradited to Denmark in February. He has since been held in pre-trial custody and faces a trial later this month in Copenhagen.
The cargo ships collided south of Ystad in Sweden, close to the Danish island of Bornholm, leaving the two seamen missing. A search operation by air and sea eventually located their bodies.
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