Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said a cargo ship with 12 crew members carrying Russian grain to Turkey sank before dawn during a storm on the Black Sea on Wednesday.
The ministry in a statement said that several rescue vessels have been dispatched to the area, but strong winds and high waves have hindered the operation.
The ministry said one crewmember, with signs of severe hypothermia, has been rescued.
The incident happened as the Panama-flagged ship, Geroi Arsenala (“Heroes of the Arsenal”), was travelling near the Kerch Strait, between mainland Russia and Crimea, Russia’s top investigative agency said on its website.
The ship, which had departed from the southern Russian port city of Azov, had nine Ukrainian, two Russian and one Georgian crewmember, the Investigative Committee said. The captain was Russian, state media reported.