LONDON — A cargo ship hit a tanker carrying jet fuel for the U.S. military off eastern England on Monday, setting both vessels ablaze and sending fuel pouring into the North Sea.

One crew member was missing hours later, and search efforts continued, the cargo ship’s owner, Ernst Russ, said in a statement.

Earlier, local lawmaker Graham Stuart said all 37 from both ships were safe and accounted for, with one hospitalized. The collision triggered a major rescue operation by lifeboats, coast guard aircraft and commercial vessels.

Stuart said he was concerned about the “potential ecological impact” of the spill. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch was investigating its cause.

The U.S.-flagged chemical and oil products tanker MV Stena Immaculate was at anchor near the port of Grimsby on Monday morning after sailing from Greece, according to ship-tracking site VesselFinder. The Portugal-flagged container ship Solong was sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands when it struck the tanker’s side.

– The Associated Press