Bulgaria Calls Off Search for Missing Syrian Sailors

Divers, coast guard and teams on the shore failed to find any trace of the missing five sailors, all of whom are Syrians. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian rescue teams have called off the search for survivors after the clash between two ships in the Black Sea near cape Emine.

Divers, coast guard and teams on the shore failed to find any trace of the missing five sailors, all of whom are Syrians.

The two ships clashed Monday, at about 5:40 pm local time 20 km southeast of cape Emine. The Karim 1 cargo ship, carrying scrap, and sailing under the Sierra Leone flag sank immediately after the collision. Five of its ten sailors - an Egyptian and four Syrians - were rescued right after the clash.

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 Regional Prosecutor's Office in the Black Sea city of Burgas is probing three possible causes for the clash, the most probable of which is reckoned to be human error .

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