ROME
Rescue efforts to help a freighter, which sank after colliding with another merchant ship in a snowstorm off the Adriatic port of Ravenna on Sunday, were suspended over bad weather conditions, officials said on Monday.
According to diplomatic sources, a search and rescue operation was carried out within a 30 mile radius of the collision with the aid of five ships and helicopters, but was suspended due to bad weather conditions.
The Turkish Consul General in Milan, Aylin Sekizkok, visited the five rescued Turkish citizens at the Santa Maria delle Croci Hospital in Ravenna.
"They are all in good condition. Five of our sailors are hospitalized; two of them will be discharged tomorrow and one is in critical condition. Unfortunately, two of our sailors have been found dead and four others missing," she said.
The 2,000 tonne Gokbel was on its way from Ravenna to another Italian port, Brindisi. It was built in 2008 and measured 87 meters long by 13 meters wide; its home port was Istanbul.
The 3,828 tonne Belize-flagged Lady Aziza was built in 1991 and last stopped at the Libyan port of Tripoli. It measured 97 meters long by 16 meters wide.
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