Black Sea: Ferry Sinks, at Least 22 Dead

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CBC

Mon Jan 29, 2:47 am

Ferry sinks in Black Sea, at least 22 dead

Rescuers have recovered 22 bodies from the Black Sea after a ferry carrying 51 people sank over the weekend.

Coast guard officials in Ukraine said the ship Pamyat Mercuria sank off the coast of Crimea while en route from Istanbul to the Crimean port of Yevpatoria on Saturday evening.

Six people were still alive, including the captain, when rescuers found, a lifeboat and a life raft on Sunday. The coast guard said 22 others had died of exposure.

The captain told his rescuers the ship sank Saturday, but did not say what caused the accident.

The 1,200-tonne ship had been converted from a survey ship to a ferry used to take traders between Istanbul and Crimea.

A search and rescue operation is under way to try to find the 23 people still missing.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), January 29, 2001


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