ATHENS, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – At least two crew members died and eight others are missing after their cargo ship went down following a collision off the southern Peloponnese coast of Greece on Monday morning, local media reported.
The Cook Islands-flagged Piri Reis, with 17 Syrian crew members onboard, sank within seven minutes of hitting the Antigua-flagged container ship Consouth.
Seven of the Piri Reis' crew have been rescued, the report said. The cause of the collision was not immediately clear, enetenglish.gr reported.
Piri Reis was carrying a cargo of fertilizer from Annaba in Algeria to a port in Ukraine.
The Consouth's crew of five Russians, ten Poles and a Filipino, were unhurt in the incident. A search and rescue operation is underway, involving a C-130 aircraft, a helicopter, coast guard ships and motor boats.
