One dead and 11 crew still missing after cargo ship sinks in Black Sea
20 November 2023, 15:34
The Turkish-flagged Kafkametler sank off the town of Eregli, around 120 miles east of Istanbul.
Severe storms and flooding have killed nine people across Turkey, including one seaman who died when a cargo ship sank off Turkey’s Black Sea coast, officials said.
Eleven other crew from the ship were reported missing.
The Turkish-flagged Kafkametler sank on Sunday after hitting a breakwater outside the harbour of the town of Eregli, around 120 miles east of Istanbul, interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
The search-and-rescue operation was delayed by several hours because of the severe weather, but as the condition eased, rescuers on Monday found the body of the ship’s cook, transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said.
At least three people were killed in the storms in the town of Eregli, while five people died in the south-eastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Batman after being swept away by floodwaters caused by heavy rains, Mr Yerlikaya said.
The victims included a grandmother and her three grandchildren.
Some 50 people were hurt.
The Cameroon-flagged Pallada “broke into two due to heavy weather conditions” after running aground amid 16ft waves off Eregli, the Maritime General Directorate said. All 13 crew were rescued safely.
Justice minister Yilmaz Tunc said prisoners had been transferred from Eregli’s prison to surrounding facilities due to rising water levels.
Elsewhere in Turkey, two people were killed after being swept by flood waters caused by heavy rains in the south-eastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Batman, Mr Yerlikaya said. Some 50 people were hurt in the floods.
In neighbouring Bulgaria, gale-force winds and heavy rain and snow claimed the lives of two people on Sunday and disrupted power supplies. Officials declared a state of emergency in the Black Sea city of Varna.
