1 Ship Sinks in Collision Off Bulgarian Coast, No Oil Spills

Two ships have collided in the Black Sea some 20 km south of Bulgaria's Emine Cape, with one of them sinking, and 6 sailors gone missing.

The collision is believed to have been the result of incorrect manoevres, according to Sergey Tsarnakliyski, Director of the Bulgarian Maritime Administration Agency.

The two ships clashed at about 5:40 pm local time. The Karim 1 cargo ship sailing under the flag of Cambodia sank.

There are minor damages to the other vessel, a much larger Dutch oil tanker sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone.

There is no danger of an oil spill because the tanker was sailing empty and was supposed to transport oil from Bulgaria's Port Varna in the north, coming from Istanbul.

At the same time, the ship that sank, had sailed off from Varna loaded with scrap.

The Bulgarian Civil Protection Agency, Border Police and two cargo vessels that were nearby, staged a rescue operation saving four of the ten crew members of the Karim 1 ship. Six of them are still missing.

Nine of the 10 sailors on Karim 1 are from Syria, and one is from Egypt. The rescue efforts off the Bulgarian coast are continuing. The Maritime Administration is concerned that the cold water could minimize the chances for survival of the missing sailors.

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