Turkey recovers 3 bodies from Black Sea shipwreck

By Murat Paksoy

ISTANBUL

Rescue teams have recovered the bodies of three crew members from a vessel that sank in the Black Sea earlier this week, the Turkish Coast Guard Command said Friday.

Early Wednesday, a Turkish cargo vessel sank seven nautical miles (roughly 13 kilometers) off the coast of Sile district on the outskirts of Istanbul.

The nearly 80-meter-long Bilal Bal vessel, with 10 crew members on board, sent a distress call Wednesday morning, the Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication Ministry said.

It was transporting iron ore from the port of Marmara in northwestern Bursa’s Gemlik district to the northern Black Sea port of Eregli.

The ship was located by TCG Alemdar ship of the Turkish Naval Forces Command on Wednesday.

Joint search and rescue efforts by the Turkish Coast Guard, Directorate General of Coastal Safety and Turkish Naval Forces are underway.