Officials: 8 crew missing after freighter sinks off Turkey's Black Sea coast

By: Suzan Fraser, The Associated Press


ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish Coast Guard boats, tug boats and a helicopter were searching for eight crew members after a Cambodia-flagged freighter ship sank in stormy waters off Turkey's Black Sea coast on Tuesday, officials said. Three other crew members were rescued.

The ship, Vera, was sailing to Turkey's Aliaga port from Russia when it sank off the coast during a storm, regional Gov. Erol Ayyildiz said. He said police were also searching the shore for the missing crew.

Ayyildiz said the ship's second and third captains and its cook, a woman, were rescued and hospitalized.

"There is hope that the eight (missing) will be rescued," the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Ayyildiz as saying. "They are used to the sea, they are experienced. Therefore, until we reach them, we are assuming that they are alive."

The Maritime Affairs Directorate said there were 10 Ukrainians and one Georgian crew member aboard the ship, which was carrying scrap metal.

It said at least three tug boats had joined the Coast Guard search-and-rescue effort, while Ayyildiz said a helicopter had also been dispatched.

"By the time the Coast Guard arrived in response to the distress call, the ship had already sunk," Irfan Erdem, head of the Chamber of Commerce for the region, told Turkey's NTV television.

He said a storm likely caused the ship's cargo to shift, tilting the vessel to the side and causing it to take on water.

Much of Turkey has been affected by a cold snap that has hit parts of Europe, with stormy weather disrupting maritime traffic.

The accident occurred some 10 days after another cargo ship brushed against two anchored vessels during severe weather off the coast of Istanbul, taking on water for hours before authorities pulled it ashore using a tug boat. Read more!

Hun Sen Calls on Rubber Corp To Hand Over Shooting Suspects

“I condemn such violence and cannot tolerate it.”


Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, right, sits during a meeting at Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, July 28, 2011. Hun Sen on Thursday opened the third meeting with environment ministers from the Greater Mekong Subregion countries which consists of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.


Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday demanded a rubber plantation turn over two security guards accused at opening fire on a gathering of villagers earlier this month.

Police say they are searching for two men who shot at a crowd of villagers who had gathered in protest to a land concession in Kratie province on Jan. 18. Four people were injured in the shooting, but no arrests have so far been made.

Hun Sen called the violence intolerable and called on TTY Corporation, which is owned by powerful business tycoon Na Marady, to turn over the security guards.

The Kratie court has issued a summons for the two guards.

At the inauguration of a new road in Mondolkiri province, Hun Sen said the company should be punished if it is found to be protecting them.

“I condemn such violence and cannot tolerate it,” Hun Sen said. “And ask the TTY Corporation to help hand over the offenders to the authorities of justice.”

Hun Sen said he had ordered Interior Minister Sar Kheng to arrest the men.

Land disputes are a growing concern in areas of more and more land concessions. Rights workers have pointed to tens of thousands affected and a potential source of widespread unrest.

Hun Sen said Tuesday he would take back land concessions if the violence continues.

Am Sam Ath, lead investigator for the rights group Licadho, welcomed premier’s words, but he said, “we will watch the effectiveness in implementation of Hun Sen’s speech.” Read more!