Captain named among dead seamen in Turkish ship crash off Italy

RAVENNA

The bow of the 86-meter-long (290-foot) Turkish ship Gokbel is visible in background after colliding with the 97-meter-long (320-foot) Belize-flagged Lady Aziza, in Marina di Ravenna, Dec. 28. AP Photo

Turkey’s Milano Consulate has revealed the names of two victims of a Turkish cargo vessel that sank off the Italian coast after colliding with another ship in rough waters, as rescue operations for four missing seamen were still ongoing as of Dec. 30.

A Turkish ship with 11 crew members sank after a collision with a vessel carrying a Belize flag in poor visibility a mile from the Italian Adriatic port of Ravenna on Dec. 28.

Turkish Consulate General of Milano Aylin Sekizkök announced one of the two crew found dead is the captain of the ship, Kamil Murat Kantoğlu, who reportedly did not leave his ship until the last minute.
The other victim has been named as another crew member Emrah Karadaş.

The accident occurred as Italy was attempting to coordinate the evacuation of hundreds of passengers and crew from a stricken ferry off the Greek island of Corfu, in the south of the Adriatic.