Search efforts are underway on the fourth day to locate the 11 missing crew members of a sunken dry cargo ship off the coast of Zonguldak of northern Türkiye, employing land, sea and air operations.
Following its collision with a breakwater due to a storm on Nov. 19 in the town of Karadeniz Ereğli, the Turkish-flagged vessel named Kafkametler sank, leading to an overnight land search for the 11 missing personnel.
As daylight broke, search operations resumed from both the sea and air.
Various teams, including the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the Coastal Safety General Directorate and other units, are collaborating in the land, sea and air efforts to locate the missing crew members.
Kafkametler, transporting cargo from Russia to the Aliağa Port in Izmir, sank in the Black Sea region during a storm that hit the area. The vessel collided with a military breakwater as it left the Port of Ereğli. The lifeless body of one of the 12 Turkish crew members was recovered on Nov. 20.
Meanwhile, a Cameroonian-flagged cargo ship, which split in two and ran aground, has taken precautionary measures by deploying barriers to prevent its fuel from spreading into the sea.
The dry cargo ship split in two during the storm, resulting in a part of the vessel being swept ashore, damaging the concrete walls of the port and impacting the nearby amphitheater.
The 13 foreign crew members on board were evacuated by the authorities and relocated to the Ereğli Teachers' Lodge.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, in a social media post, noted that search operations for the 11 missing sailors on the Kafkametler in Karadeniz Ereğli are ongoing with the participation of the Coast Guard Command, as well as teams from the Gendarmerie Search and Rescue (SAK), Coastal Safety, AFAD, gendarmerie and police.
Yerlikaya expressed gratitude to the teams participating in the day and night search activities, saying: "I thank our teams who participate in search activities day and night. May Allah protect our country and our people from disasters."
