10 feared dead as Turkish cargo ship sinks following tanker collision
A Turkish cargo ship carrying 10 crew members sank in the Marmara Sea off Istanbul early Wednesday after colliding with a tanker, Turkish authorities said. The Tugberk Imamoglu, a 90-metre (300 feet) cargo vessel carrying rolled steel, collided with the Turkish-flagged tanker Alsu about 20 miles (32 km) south of Silivri, on the western outskirts of Istanbul, before sinking rapidly, according to Turkey’s maritime authorities. We can say that the sinking occurred rapidly in 11 minutes. The emergency call was received at 3:26 am, while the collision was reported at around 3:15 am, Uraloglu said. “We received the emergency call at 3:26 am. If we accept the captain’s reported (collision) time of 3:15, we can say the sinking occurred very rapidly, within just 11 minutes,” he said. Two helicopters and 12 search-and-rescue vessels were deployed in the operation, while the tanker Alsu, which was not damaged in the collision, also joined the search, authorities said.
Because it did not respond to any calls and the mobile phones of the personnel on board went unanswered, the maritime directorate said, “It is assessed that the Tugberk Imamoglu vessel sank.
“There are 10 seafarers on board, including the captain,” Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu told AP. Unfortunately, no survivors have been found so far,” Uraloglu said. Search-and-rescue teams were deployed to locate the crew members following the collision. “They are all Turkish. No one has been found alive. “We spotted life buoys and a lifeboat but it was empty.