The Turkish Coast Guard has reported that a Turkish cargo ship with 10 crew on board has sunk in the Black Sea.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed that search and rescue efforts were ongoing and that the reason for the ship sinking was unknown after the coast guard raised the alarm early on Wednesday morning (October 1, 2017).
Turkish naval forces have also deployed five boats and a underwater rescue vessel that is examining the ship’s resting place seven miles off the Sile coast at a depth of 88 meters.
Rescue operations include three boats, one helicopter and one plane belonging to the coast guard, which has reported that its found empty lifeboats and life jackets.
The crew included Captain Refik Telci, second Captain Cüneyd Yedican, chief engineer Ali Doğan, second machinist Hüsamettin Yazıcı and sailors Mert İlkmen, Nihat Küçük, Aşkın Küçük, Nedim Alicem, Sabri Yıldırım, Engin Selçuk and Vedat Odabaşı, according to the naval news website, Deniz Haber Ajansı.
The 78.5-meter-long vessel Bilal Bal, built in 1974, was carrying a cargo of cast iron from Turkey’s north-western province of Bursa to the northern province of Zonguldak, according to a Reuters report that cited Dogan news agency.
