A newly rebuilt historic German sailing ship has sunk after a collision with a container ship.

The collision happened on the Elbe River at Stade near Hamburg on Saturday.

Five people were injured on the wooden ship, No 5 Elbe, which was recently restored at a cost of 1.5 million euro.

The 43 passengers and crew aboard were rescued.

The 37 metre (121 foot) long pilot schooner, built in 1883, was Hamburg's last remaining seagoing ship from the era of wooden ships and could be rented for harbour excursions, media reports said. 

It had just been renovated over eight months in a Danish shipyard where it received new outer wooden planks and a new stern.

The container ship was the Cyprus-flagged Astrosprinter.