The emergency services on Monday resumed their search for the bodies of two men who went missing after a collision between a small boat and barge in Amsterdam’s western port area on Sunday evening.

The accident happened at around 6 pm, the regional safety board reported, and teams of divers and sonar-equipped boats were sent to the area in an effort to find them.

The search was halted after some hours because the “golden hour”, the window following a serious trauma in which fast assistance is crucial, has passed, the safety region said.

Police are now trying to establish what caused the collision.