A Panama-flagged dry cargo ship sank in the Black Sea, off the coast of Crimea, early morning on Wednesday, April 19th. There were 12 crew members on board, at least 7 of whom are missing, but the exact number is yet to be officially confirmed.
The ‘Geroi Arsenala’ ship was carrying grain from Russia to Turkey, when crew members sent a distress call reporting a wreck. According to Reuters, the ship is said to have sunk after splitting at two, due to inclement weather conditions.
A search and rescue operation has been launched, consisted of at least 6 vessels and one helicopter, searching for survivors. However, the research is impeded from strong winds.
It is reported that the number of missing crew is 11, as only one has been rescued so far, while russian sources inform that 5 crew have already been rescued. The crew on board was consisted of nine Ukrainians, two Russians and one Georgian.