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50 feared dead as ship splits
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MORE than 50 people were feared dead on Monday night after a cargo ship carrying illegal immigrants ran aground off Turkey's Mediterranean coast, split in two and sank.
As well as 10 crew, the Georgian-flagged Pati had an estimated 73 people locked in its cargo hold. It suffered a mechanical failure during heavy conditions on early Monday and sent out an SOS call. The storm prevented coastguards from reaching the 400-tonne ship, which drifted. One half stuck on rocks while the other sank, taking many passengers with it.
A total of 32 people, including six crew, were rescued, and two were being treated in hospital for shock. Six bodies were recovered off the port of Kemer and another 45 people were missing.
Cem Karaca, the coastguard commander leading rescue efforts, said: "There is little hope of finding them alive."
High winds and cold weather hampered the search, which was suspended on Monday afternoon to await improved conditions. The passengers were illegal immigrants trying to make their way to Greece and those rescued included 10 Iranians and 16 Pakistanis. Others were Moroccan, Afghani and Bangladeshi. One said he had been locked in a hold with about 50 other people.
Police said the Greek captain, Polizois Galanis, was detained for questioning. The vessel came to Antalya port from Israel on December 27 to load cement but rainy weather and the Muslim festival of Eid delayed the delivery and the captain insisted on leaving for Greece, according to the shipping company that had hired the ship.
Ertugrul Dokuzoglu, governor of the Antalya region, said a criminal investigation would begin against the Greek captain, who had declared the ship empty before leaving port. He said that it was unclear how many passengers had been on board.
Scores of small boats carrying illegal immigrants capsize in the Aegean and Mediterranean each year as they try to make their way to western Europe via Greece.(SD-Agencies)
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