Freighter Takes a Dive in Aegean Sea, Leaves 13 Sailors Missing
In a harrowing ordeal, 13 maritime workers are still unaccounted for after a freighter went down roughly 4.5 nautical miles off the coast of Lesbos. Greek radio (ERT) reported this tragic event on Sunday, citing the coastguard, who disclosed that a rescue helicopter managed to save one of the shipwreck survivors.
The vessel in question, named "Raptor," had previously issued a distress signal before the mysterious sinking event ensued. The cargo on board was salt, according to the report, with the ship embarking on its journey from Egypt towards Istanbul under the Comoros's flag. The crew hailed from Syria, India, and Egypt, as per Greek media sources. Various ships passed by, a Greek navy frigate, and three coastguard boats participated in the ensuing search and rescue operations.
A tempest has been battering south-eastern Europe since Saturday, as mentioned by the Meteorological Office in Athens (EMY). Winds have been reaching up to force eleven in certain locations, forcing nearly all ferry services between Greek islands and the mainland to halt operations. The pelting storm is expected to subside over the course of Sunday in the accident site's vicinity.
During the storm's onslaught, the "Raptor" encountered challenges, leading to the distress signal and subsequent sinking. Given the adverse weather conditions, the large-scale rescue operation was a formidable task.
It's crucial to differentiate between the incident at hand and a past shipping disaster in 1963 involving a freighter named "Ilektra." The latter ran aground near Brest, France, and sank, with 16 crew members scrambling to the rock for salvation, while the captain perished, and two additional crew members remained missing[2]. The situation from 1963 remains unresolved concerning the missing crew members.
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Source: dpa.com
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While the input doesn’t include any mention of the "Raptor" freighter sinking in the Aegean Sea, there is an incident of a cargo ship named "Ilektra" sinking in the same location in 1963. However, the article does not describe any recent status update for potential missing crew members from this incident. Please provide clarification on the specific event you seek information about, and I can help you with accurate data.
