AN allegedly drunk Brit sailor has been arrested after the supertanker he was on smashed into another vessel - throwing two people into the sea, killing one of them.

       Swedish cops arrested two people on Monday after a fatal early morning collision between a Danish ship and a British vessel off the country's southern coast.

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       The Karin Hoej pictured after it collided in the British cargo ship Scot Carrier in the Baltic sea Credit: AFP 6

       The Danish ship had two crew on board - one of which has since died Credit: AP 6

       The crash took place off the coast of Sweden Credit: Marine Traffic

       Sweden's Prosecution Service said in a statement that an investigation into "aggravated drunkenness at sea," "gross negligence in sea traffic," and "gross causing of death by negligence" had been opened.

       A Brit, 30, and a Croatian citizen, 56, have since been arrested, the Prosecution Service said.

       Nine boats and a rescue choppers frantically searched for the two missing crewmembers for hours following the horror crash in the waters between the Swedish city of Ystad and the Danish island of Bornholm.

       The Swedish Maritime Administration received reports of screams coming from the water at around 4.45am, communications manager Jonas Franzen said.

       He said: "Shortly after half past 3am (0230GMT), we received an alert through our sea and flight rescue central that two freight vessels have collided.

       "One of the ships has capsized and is upside down."

       Around 10:30am the maritime authority cancelled the search at sea as the overturned Danish ship was towed closer to shore to enable divers to search inside.

       Shortly after 3pm, authorities decided to cancel the rescue operation, after divers had found a body in the wreck.

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       "The person is deceased, but the next of kin have not yet been informed yet," police spokeswoman Evelina Olsson told AFP.

       Mats Kellerman, captain of one of the rescue boats, had already told reporters that "the chance of finding survivors is small," noting the time that had passed and the cold water.

       "The Scot Carrier released a smaller boat and looked for people and they heard screams from the water, but couldn't find anyone," Franzen added.

       Emma Valhem, spokeswoman for the Swedish Sea Rescue Society, said she did it was unlikely the second sailor would be found alive.

       She said with water temperatures around four degrees Celsius at this time of year, the "situation is critical, right from the start".

       A spokesperson for Scotline said they were unable to comment since the details of the incident are currently under investigation but said their vessel was assisting local authorities "as required".

       British cargo ship The Scot Carrier collided with Danish-flagged Karin Hoej in the in the early hours of Monday morning.

       It was reported that the Scot Carrier, which was heading for Montrose in Scotland, is still functional with its crew safe.

       The Karin Hoej capsized and was found upside down.

       The Karin Hoej, which was not loaded, was sailing from Sodertalje in Sweden to Nykobing Falster in southern Denmark with two people on board, said Soren Hoj, managing director of shipping company Rederiet Hoj, which owns the capsized vessel.

       "I can confirm an accident has happened but I do not know the circumstances," he said.

       "A major rescue operation is taking place."

       A map showed the two vessels close to each other in the water surrounded by lifeboats.

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       A spokesperson for the Danish Meteorological Institute said fog was reported in the area at the time of the incident.

       The Danish military confirmed the ships were sailing in the same direction when they came into contact.

       Swedish coast guards have begun a salvage operation on the Karin Hoej after the vessel began leaking oil.

       The Scot Carrier, built in 2018, is some 90 metres long while the Danish carrier is just 55 metres long and was built in 1977, according to Aftonbladet.

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       Danish and Swedish maritime authorities have begun a salvage operation Credit: Reuters 6

       The Scot Carrier is understood to still be functional Credit: Reuters 6

       The Karin Hoej has capsized (file image) Credit: Marine Traffic/Peter aus Holtenau