Published November 26,2023
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Greek rescuers on Sunday have been trying to find 12 folks lacking after a ship sank in gale-force winds off the Aegean island of Lesbos, with the authorities discovering one crew member useless and saving one other.
A helicopter final flew to the wreck web site at 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) whereas seven vessels, a coastguard vessel and a frigate have been to proceed combing the realm all night time lengthy, the Greek coastguard informed AFP.
The physique of a person was earlier situated and brought to the port of Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos, a press release stated.
In the morning, a navy helicopter had picked up one crew member from the Comoros-flagged Raptor cargo ship who was taken to Lesbos General Hospital alive.
The ERT state-run news web site stated the person, an Egyptian, was discovered floating on a barrel and in good well being regardless of head wounds.
“He is in a state of shock,” coastguard spokesman Nikos Alexiou had informed AFP.
The destiny of the opposite 12 was not instantly clear however hopes have been dimming as darkness fell.
Authorities stated the Raptor, which was carrying 14 crew members and was loaded with salt, went down 4.5 nautical miles southwest of Lesbos, close to the Turkish coast, early Sunday.
The 106-metre (348-foot) ship, in-built 1984, had sailed from Dekheila, Egypt, heading for Istanbul.
The Athens News Agency (ANA), quoting the vessel’s working firm based mostly in Lebanon, stated the crew included 11 Egyptians, two Syrians and one Indian.
According to the authorities, the ship first reported a mechanical failure at 7:00 am native time.
At 8:20 am, the captain reported that the ship was itemizing and activated the “mayday” misery sign earlier than disappearing from the radar, Alexiou informed AFP.
According to ANA, the closely laden vessel was believed to have taken on water within the maintain on account of sturdy waves, inflicting it to checklist and sink.
Media stories stated it carried 6,000 tonnes of salt.
‘DANGEROUS WEATHER’ WARNING
Ships remained docked throughout a number of elements of Greece over the weekend, with wind speeds reaching 9-10 on the Beaufort scale, or sturdy gale to storm pressure.
An emergency climate warning by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY) was upgraded on Saturday from “worsening weather” to “dangerous weather phenomena”, as Storm Oliver (additionally referred to as Bettina) moved from the Adriatic Sea towards Greece.
Earlier this month, a historic Greek warship was broken by gale-force winds after repeatedly hitting a dock.
There is to date no report of sea air pollution.
“We don’t expect an oil spill, at least an extensive one, because there was no collision. Now we are focusing on locating the sailors,” a senior coastguard supply informed AFP.
Source: www.anews.com.tr