A Turkish-operated cargo ship sank on Thursday after colliding with a Greek tanker in the southern Aegean Sea, killing one Turkish sailor and leaving five sailors missing, officials said. The cause of the collision was not immediately known, but the area, not far from the major Greek port of Piraeus, is known for its heavy shipping traffic.
Five sailors were missing from the Morocco-bound, Panamanian registered "Han" cargo ship, which was operated by a Turkish ship owner and had a crew of 13, a Turkish Chamber of Maritime Commerce official said.
The collision took place some 16 nautical miles south-east of the island of Hydra, about three hours by ferry from Athens.
"All 11 members of the crew of the Greek tanker are safe and the tanker has also rescued seven crew members from the cargo ship, all of them Turks," a Greek Merchant Marine Ministry official said.
She said the tanker had also picked up the body of the dead crew member, while officials were investigating the cause of the daytime crash. All rescued crew members were flown to a hospital near Athens for medical checks.
Turkish chamber officials said the dead man was a Turk, but the Greek official said: "The nationality of the one dead and those missing are not known."
After the ship collision, several rescue helicopters, three coastguard vessels and a Greek naval frigate as well as smaller private boats were scouring the waters off the island to locate the missing crew members.