Three missing Syrians are being sought by Romanian rescue teams after their cargo ship sank in the Black Sea off Romania’s coast.
The cargo ship, Mohammed Z, had a crew of 11 on board and sank Saturday morning approximately 50km offshore from the Romanian city of Sfantu Gheorghe, on the Danube delta, according to authorities.
The Tanzania-flagged ship was carrying nine Syrian and two Egyptian nationals.
The naval authorities and the border patrol started search and rescue operations around 4am, following an alert. Two merchant vessels in the vicinity also joined the mission.
Eight sailors were successfully rescued by one of the commercial vessels, while efforts to locate the “three missing crew members, all Syrian nationals” continue.
The cause of the incident remains unknown at this stage. Since the start of the Russian conflict in Ukraine, drifting mines have posed an ongoing threat to vessels in the Black Sea – prompting increased demining efforts from neighbouring countries.
