A major rescue operation was launched on Sunday (Nov 26) for 13 crew members who went missing after a Comoros-flagged cargo ship carrying 14 crew sank in gale-force winds off the Lesbos island. According to a report by the news agency AFP, the coastguard said that a navy helicopter picked up one crew member from the RAPTOR cargo ship. The crew member was taken to the Lesbos General Hospital.
Speaking to AFP, coastguard spokesperson Nikos Alexiou said the crew member was in a state of shock. The fate of the other 13 was not immediately clear, the report said. Local media reported that the ship’s crew included 11 Egyptians, two Syrians and one Indian.
Ship was heading for Istanbul
Authorities said that the cargo ship, which was built in 1984, was loaded with salt and went down 8.3 kilometres southwest of Lesbos, near the coast of Turkey early Sunday. The ship sailed from Dekheila, Egypt and was heading for Istanbul.
The vessel first reported a mechanical failure at seven am local time. Nearly 90 minutes later, the captain reported that the ship was listing, and activated the “mayday” distress signal before disappearing from the radar, Alexiou told AFP.
Local media reported the ship was believed to have taken on water in the hold due to strong waves, causing it to list and sink.
An emergency weather warning by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY) was upgraded on Saturday from “worsening weather” to “dangerous weather phenomena”, as Storm Oliver moved from the Adriatic Sea toward Greece.
This incident comes days after a historic Greek warship called the Velos was damaged by gale-force winds after repeatedly hitting a dock.
Velos took part in the resistance to the 1967-74 dictatorship.
The Association of Resistance Members Jailed and Exiled by the Dictatorship (SFEA) said the Velos sustained “serious” hull damage after repeatedly striking the dock in Thessaloniki on Nov 18.
(With inputs from agencies)
