Two crew members were killed on Monday after a Panama-flagged vessel, Volgo Balt 214 sunk off Turkey’s Black Sea coast.
Turkish officials said seven crew members were rescued alive as rescue efforts continue.
The Volgo Balt 214 with a cargo of coal was heading to Samsun from the Russian port of Azov when it encountered trouble 80 nautical miles from Samsun province and had sent a distress call at 8.10am.
The vessel had 13 crew members on board including nine Ukrainians, two Azerbaijanis and two Russians
“The total number of crew members rescued alive is seven and our teams have found the bodies of two. Our rescue efforts continue,” the governor’s office of the northern Turkish province of Samsun said on Twitter.
The cause of the incident was not given.
A plane, four helicopters and several rescue boats were on hand to find the missing crew, the governor’s office said in a separate statement.