Families of Turkish sailors who died in the collision of two vessels on Dec. 28, 2014 in Italy are preparing to file a lawsuit against Italian authorities for negligence.
Three Turkish sailors aboard the Turkish-flagged Gökbel are still missing while the bodies of three others were recovered from the site of the collision off the port of Ravenna in Italy.
The body of Zeynel Üstün, 46, was found in an unrecognizable state some 25 days after the collision when it washed ashore 300 kilometers away from the site of the accident.
Ulvi Üstün, the brother of the victim, claimed that Italian port authorities were at fault for the collision, in particular, the operator responsible for directing the sea traffic arriving at and departing from the port. Üstün said that they have hired a lawyer and will file a lawsuit of negligence against Italian officials after they received the body of his brother. "We will not let them to cover it up," he said.
The Turkish-flagged vessel was leaving the port when it collided with the Belize-flagged Lady Aziza. The Turkish ship sank, while the other vessel was heavily damaged in the accident.
