Türkiye remembers victims of 1942 refugee ship disaster

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye on Friday marked the anniversary of the 1942 Struma disaster in which hundreds of people were killed when a vessel carrying Jewish refugees was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in the Black Sea.

"We will commemorate with respect those who lost their lives in this tragic incident that occurred 81 years ago with a ceremony to be held in Istanbul today," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said in a statement.

The Struma vessel, carrying Jewish refugees fleeing the persecution of Nazis and their allies during the World War II, was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in the international waters of the Black Sea on Feb. 24, 1942, resulting in the deaths of 768 people, including 108 children.