A Guinea-Bissau flagged cargo ship sank off the Mediterranean coast of Turkey on Wednesday (Apr 05), with 14 crew members on board.
The ship, Joe 2, was en route from the Turkish port of Iskenderun to Ukraine and was carrying aluminum cargo, as reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency.
Governor Ersin Yazici stated that at least three crew members had been killed in the incident, with five others rescued and efforts ongoing to locate the remaining missing crew members.
The cause of the ship's sinking is currently unknown, and an investigation has been launched by the chief prosecutor's office for Kumluca.
The Turkish Coast Guard Command received a distress call at 3:47 a.m. and dispatched multiple vessels, boats, and helicopters to aid in the rescue efforts. Two crew members were rescued by coast guard helicopters, while three others were saved by nearby vessels. All 14 crew members were reported to be Syrian nationals.
The rescue efforts were being hampered by a storm as reported by the local news media.