Bulgarian Prosecutor Probes 3 Causes of Fatal Ship Collision

Dutch oil tanker "Alessandro DP" escaped with minor damage the clash with a cargo ship in Bulgarian coastal waters. Photo by Johnny Verhulst, Marinetraffic.com

The Regional Prosecutor's Office in the Black Sea city of Burgas is probing three possible causes for the clash of two ships near cape Emine.

The monitoring prosecutor, Angel Georgiev, told the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, Tuesday his office is considering a technical failure on one of the ships, human error, or bad weather.

The sea accident is investigated by the National Investigative Services. A case has been filed with the Burgas Prosecutor's Office against an unknown perpetrator for causing the accident, leading to the harm of more than one person.

The two ships clashed Monday, at about 5:40 pm local time 20 km southeast of cape Emine. Five sailors are still missing, and two of them are believed to have died on the spot, according to witnesses.

The Karim 1 cargo ship, carrying scrap, and sailing under the Sierra Leone flag sank. There are minor damages to the other vessel, a much larger Dutch oil tanker "Alessandro DP." There were initial fears of a large oil spill, but the tanker was empty.

The Karim 1 had ten crew on board and five have been rescued.

The Tuesday rescue operation is carried out by the military cutters and ships with special equipment, and by the Air Force, sending a "Cougar" helicopter from the "Krumovo" military airbase.

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