At least two people died and 19 others were missing when a freight vessel capsized off Norwegian west coast Monday afternoon, Norwegian media reported.    

Eyewitnesses said the 166-meter vessel carrying stones leaned abruptly to one side when going through a strait in the North Sea off the Norwegian city of Bergen. It was upturned minutes later.

The vessel sank to the sea bottom after being carried downward by the currents for about 2 km, with some crew members trapped inside.

Rescue boats and helicopters from Norway's sea rescue department had found eight crews and two bodies till Monday night. They also reported 19 missing.

Divers were cutting into the overturned hull to search for missing crew, some of whom were believed to be still alive, the report said.

The Germany-bound "Rockness" belongs to a Dutch shipping company, the Bergen maritime department said. Among the crew were 23 Filipinos, three Dutchmen, two Norwegian and one German.

The cause of the accident was under investigation.

Eight Filipinos rescued from sunken ship in Norway

Twenty-three Filipinos were aboard a cargo ship that sank off the coast of western Norway late Monday night Manila time, which left two people dead and 18 missing.

Eight Filipinos were among the nine people already rescued by boats and helicopters around the upturned vessel Rockness near the port of Bergen, the ABS-CBN news channel Tuesday quoted rescuers in the area as saying.

"Two people are dead, nine have been hospitalized and 18 others are still missing," said Cecille Wathne, spokeswoman for the rescue services in Sola, southwestern Norway.

Philippine authorities have already formed a crisis team to assist families of the Filipino victims of the ill-fated ship.

Reports said Rockness, which was carrying 23 Filipino crewmen, a German, two Norwegians and three Dutch, is owned by Norwegian company Jebsen Management and was bound for Germany carrying rocks to be used as foundation for underwater cables.

The 166-meter ship capsized only a few hundred meters from shore for unknown reason, plunging crew members into the water with temperatures below five degrees Celsius (41 Fahrenheit).

(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2004)