Two people drowned and four were missing at sea and feared dead after two merchant ships collided in rough seas off the Italian coast yesterday, Italian officials said.
A Turkish ship with 11 crew members sank after it collided with a vessel carrying a Belize flag in poor visibility a mile from the Italian Adriatic port of Ravenna, a coastguard official said.
The mayor of Ravenna, Fabrizio Matteucci, said on Italian state television that the dead and missing were all Turkish men from the ship Gokbel, which sank after the collision with the Belize-flagged Lady Aziza.
“There are two victims and four missing,” he said, adding that he had received the latest information from the coastguard leading the rescue operation, which was hampered by “prohibitive” sea conditions and fog.
Five rescued
The names of the dead and missing have not been released. Five members of the Turkish ship have been rescued and are in good condition and there were no casualties among the crew of the other ship, Mr Matteucci said. – (Reuters)