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Four Ukrainians Dead As Cargo Ship Sinks Off Turkey's Black Sea Coast


Four Ukrainian citizens have been killed after a cargo ship sank off Turkey's Black Sea coast, Kyiv's envoy to Ankara said.

The Panama-flagged vessel sent out a distress signal around 150 kilometers off Turkey's Black Sea province of Samsun, the Turkish coast guard said on January 7.

The crew of the Volgo Balt 214 vessel included 11 Ukrainians and two Azerbaijanis, Samsun Governor Osman Kaymak said.

Kaymak said that a total of six crewmen died in the tragedy, while seven others were rescued and taken to hospital.

Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Sybiha confirmed there were 11 Ukrainians onboard and said that four of them were among the dead.
https://twitter.com/andrii_sybiha/status/1082252812518604801

There was no information about the nationalities of the other two dead crew members.

The Turkish governor quoted one of the survivors as saying that the ship's hull split in two after being hit by a powerful wave.

Turkey's coast guard said the search-and-rescue operation was carried out by a plane, three helicopters, and two boats.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP
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