Four people drowned and at least 12 went missing after a cargo ship capsized in a storm off the Turkish coast, the Coast Guard said.Three rescuers died and another three were missing during a search and rescue operation to find nine missing crew members, Turkish media said. Three crew members have been rescued so far. One died while being air-lifted to safety.
The Volgo Balt 199 vessel, with a crew of 11 Ukrainians and one Russian, sank off Istanbul’s Black Sea coast near Sile on Dec. 3. The ship, owned by the Solna Maritime Company, was carrying coal from Russia to Turkey.
The rescue operation was hampered by stormy weather in the Sea of Marmara, Turkey’s NTV television reported. “Conditions are getting worse because of the bad weather. Rescue work is under way with the help of helicopters and boats from the Coast Guard.”
The ship was reported to have sent a distress signal at 07:30 GMT before contact was lost.
Meanwhile, another freighter, the BBC Adriatic with 14 crew on board, is also in difficulty after suffering mechanical failure. Television footage showed the ship being tossed about in heavy seas. “The sea conditions are very rough which is making the rescue operation very difficult,” Salih Orakci, Head of the Directorate General of Coastal Safety, said. “[But] God willing, we will save that ship.”
The storm has forced the cancellation of flights and ferry services in the Bosphorus Strait, which is one of the world’s busiest waterways. Bad weather frequently forces the strait’s closure in winter. About 10,000 vessels carrying 150 million tonnes of oil and petroleum products use the strait every year.
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