Turkish cargo ship with 12 crew sinks in Black Sea

A view of a damaged tree after the stranded cargo ship that drifted due to the storm in Eregli district of Zonguldak, Turkiye on November 20, 2023. [Ömer Ürer – Anadolu Agency]

A Turkish cargo ship with 12 crew on board sank off Turkey’s Black Sea coast during a storm on Sunday, Reuters has reported. The authorities have been unable to make contact with any of the crew, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said today.

The captain of the Turkish-flagged MV Kafkametler had reported on Sunday morning that the ship was drifting toward a breakwater off Eregli, in north-west Turkiye’s Zonguldak province, the provincial governor’s office said earlier. According to Yerlikaya, the ship sank after hitting the breakwater.

The region was hit by powerful storms on Sunday and the governor’s office said the bad weather prevented air and sea vessels from carrying out searches for any survivors. “When the adverse weather conditions improve, search and rescue activities will start immediately,” the minister told reporters.

READ: More than 100 evacuees to arrive in Turkiye

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