A cargo ship has sunk after colliding with another vessel in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, while ten crew members are missing.
The accident occurred at around 03:00, about 32 kilometers south of Silivri, a suburb of Istanbul. The ship “Tugberk İmamoğlu” collided with the Turkish-flagged vessel “Alsu”, which according to authorities suffered no visible damage.
After the collision, all contact with the cargo ship's crew was lost. Search and rescue teams have found a lifeboat and other remains of the "Tugberk İmamoğlu", but still no trace of the people on board.
The General Directorate of Maritime Affairs stated that the ship is considered sunk, as it did not respond to calls, while the crew members' phones were turned off or unanswered.
Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said there were ten sailors on board, including the captain, all Turkish citizens. The 90-meter-long ship was sailing from the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun to Ereğli on the Black Sea. The 91-meter-long Alsu was traveling from Kocaeli to Aliağa on the Aegean coast.
