Ship split in two as heavy storms hit Turkey - 9 killed across the country (UPDATE)

Independent (UK)
Sun, 19 Nov 2023 13:09 UTC

Watch the moment a Panama-flagged vessel was split into two off the coast of Eregli, Zonguldak, as strong winds hit northwestern Turkey on Sunday, 19 November.

The ship's entire crew have been evacuated and no injuries have been reported.

Emergency services including the coastguard and a fire crew were dispatched to the scene to rescue all 13 foreign nationals onboard the vessel.

The dry cargo ship drifted ashore and crashed into the port's concrete walls and damaged the coastal amphitheatre.

Comment: Update November 21

Rudaw reports:

Heavy rainstorms and floods killed nine people across Turkey, the country's interior minister announced on Monday.

Several areas across Turkey were struck by heavy rainstorms and flooding on Sunday, the severity of the weather conditions causing a Turkish cargo ship to sink off the Black Sea coast in the country's northern province of Zonguldak. Of the 12 crew members on board, only one body was retrieved, with the rest remaining missing.

"I would like to express with regret that one of our crew members [on the cargo ship] and 9 of our citizens have died due to storms, floods, and heavy rains," Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told journalists in Zonguldak on Monday.

Yerlikaya said four people died in Batman, one in Diyarbakir and three in Zonguldak, in addition to the cargo ship crew member.

Turkey's Disaster Management Authority (AFAD) announced on X on Sunday night that three ships were "affected by the storm" and a total of 25 people were rescued from two of them, while efforts to rescue the missing crew members of the third ship, which sunk in Zonguldak, continue.

Turkey is no stranger to flooding. In September two people were killed in floods that hit the streets of Istanbul following several hours of heavy rainfall.

In March, a series of devastating floods hit Sanliurfa and Adiyaman provinces killing 21 people.

Related: Extreme weather claims 2 lives in Bulgaria and leaves many in the dark