CORRECTS - Turkey: Palau-flagged ship sinks off Black Sea coast

CORRECTS COUNTRY TO WHICH SHIP WAS REGISTERED, NUMBER OF CREW MEMBERS, NATIONALITY OF CREW; UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM TRANSPORT MINISTRY

Official sources corrected it was a Palau-flagged ship and all crew members are Ukrainian nationals, saying it was difficult to reach clear information at first. Accordingly, headline and news is also edited

By Anadolu Agency staff

BARTIN/ANKARA (AA) – A Palau-flagged dry cargo ship sank off Turkey's Black Sea on Sunday, according to a Turkish governor.

The ship, named Arvin, sank off the Inkumu Coast of the northern Bartin province, said Sinan Guner.

According to the Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, rescue teams have so far managed to rescue six of 12 crew members – all Ukrainian nationals – and recover the lifeless bodies of two others.

The ship, which was anchored within the administrative boundaries of the Bartin Port Authority on Friday due to bad weather conditions, broke and sank on Sunday, the ministry said.

The ministry added that rescue efforts are underway to rescue the remainder of the crew.

In a statement, the Turkish National Defense Ministry announced that the country’s navy deployed a frigate to support the rescue effort.​​​​​​​