Cargo ship sinks in Black Sea as storms wreak havoc

ZONGULDAK

Teams have reached the body of one of 12 crew members who went missing after their cargo ship got trapped in a fierce storm accompanied by torrential rains in the Black Sea and sank off the coast of Zonguldak, as at least nine people were killed in several flood-hit provinces.

The authorities on Nov. 19 announced that they lost contact with the ship “Kafkametler” after it departed from the Ereğli Port, where it took shelter due to the storm.

The Turkish-flagged vessel transporting cargo from Russia to the İzmir’s Aliağa Port in the country’s west resumed its journey shortly after it sought refugee.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who arrived at the scene early on Nov. 20, announced the sinking of the vessel, emphasizing that rescue teams were unable to launch search operation and thus reach the crew due to adverse weather conditions.

With the storm subsiding slightly from the previous day, Coast Guard teams confirmed the finding of the lifeless body of one crew member on the shores of Ereğli.

On Nov. 19, the Cameroonian-flagged cargo ship Palada also ran aground due to a snapped rope, with all 13 crew members rescued by firefighting teams.

Another ship, the Cameroonian-flagged Sormonsky 45, faced a similar fate and was towed by a port tugboat, saving its 12 crew members after its rope broke.

Yerlikaya added that the waves off the Zonguldak coast reached nine meters, and visibility dropped to 25 meters. Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced the relocation of prisoners in a Ereğli prison to a neighboring facility in another province due to the rising sea levels.

Starting from the morning of Nov. 19, heavy snowfall, rain and strong winds wreaked havoc on almost every region from the west to the east of the country.

In the southeastern province of Batman, these weather conditions resulted in the death of a mother and two children.

The 54-year-old woman was swept away with her three children in front of her house, and her body was found on Nov. 19. The bodies of all three children were reached on the morning of Nov. 20.

In the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, a 45-year-old mentally disabled man was dragged into a nearby stream while trying to return his house, with rescue teams recovering the man's body.

Yerlikaya mentioned that 50 people in two provinces were injured due to adverse weather conditions, including floods and traffic accidents.

Coastal provinces with access to the Marmara and the Mediterranean seas experienced significant material damage as moored boats took on water. Additionally, some fishing boats anchored off the Black Sea coast were reported to have sunk.

In the eastern provinces, snowfall halted transportation to remote districts and villages. Caught unprepared for the sudden onset of winter, drivers flocked to mechanics to get winter tires. Traffic came to a standstill on snowy roads, leading to long queues in many provinces.

Istanbul Governor Davut Gül reported that more than 200 homes and businesses were flooded in the metropolis. The intense rainfall and storm brought daily life to a halt across the country, resulting in the suspension of education in several regions, including Istanbul’s northern district of Şile, Zonguldak and Sinop.