Cargo ships collide in Baltic Sea off Sweden's coast

Two cargo ships have collided in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden causing one vessel to capsize, Swedish media report.

A number of people are feared to be in the water and a major rescue operation is under way, Sweden's public broadcaster SVT reported on Monday.

One vessel is said to be registered in Denmark and the other in the UK.

Details of the collision, including the cause and how many people were on board the capsized ship, are unclear.

The incident occurred in an area of the Baltic Sea between the southern Swedish coastal town of Ystad and the Danish island Bornholm, the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) said.

A spokesman for the SMA, Jonas Franzen, said the Danish ship - the Karin Hoej - had turned upside down. The ship reportedly had two people on board.

The British-flagged ship was named as the Scot Carrier.

"We received a report that screams had been heard from the water," Mr Franzen said.

He said the reports came in at about 04:45 local time (03:45 GMT) on Monday.

"We have not found anyone yet. But we have requested diving resources... it is dark and very cold in the water," he added.

Helicopters and about 10 boats from Sweden and Denmark have joined search and rescue efforts, SVT reports.

Swedish news agency TT cited a Swedish coastguard spokesman

One of the vessels is 90m long and the other 55m, Swedish news agency TT said.