2 dead, 2 missing after vessels collide near Dutch island

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Emergency services say that two people have died and two more are missing after a water taxi and a ferry collided on the Wadden Sea near the northwestern Dutch island of Terschelling. Authorities say that the ferry was carrying 27 passengers and crew while there were eight people on board the smaller water taxi, who were thrown into the water by the collision early Friday. The people on board the ferry were taken to the mainland port of Harlingen, 115 kilometers (71 miles) north of Amsterdam. Spokesman Jan Willem Zwart of the Friesland Security Region says an intensive search is underway for the missing people. It was not immediately clear why the vessels collided.