ONE PERSON IS believed to be missing after a German freight ship hit a passenger ferry in a canal near Amsterdam, the BBC reports.

Dutch police have said that the ferry’s skipper is still missing since the incident, which occurred at 7 am local time (5 am GMT).

Earlier reports in Dutch media suggested that some passengers might have been thrown into the water after ferry capsized. However local police now say they believe that the skipper was the only person on board the ferry – which can carry about 15 people – when it was hit.

A Dutch police spokeswoman, Carine Porgengen, told the BBC:

We know that the first hour is crucial to rescue someone from the water, so of course we continue looking, but the chances that he is still alive are small, if he (is) in the water.

Some reports suggest that the ferry somehow became loose from its mooring and floated into the canal, and was unmanned when the collision occurred.

The captain of the freight vessel has been questioned by police. He has tested negative for alcohol.