By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos
ANKARA (Worthy News) – Turkey and other parts of the Balkans were recovering Thursday after a catastrophic flooding caused by massive storms and a related tsunami left a trail of destruction, killing up to 22 people, officials said.
Turkish rescue teams searched this week for 11 missing crew members of a cargo ship that sunk off the Black Sea coast. Storms claimed the lives of at least nine people, including at least one from the vessel, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
The minister told media that the Turkish-flagged Kafkametler, with 12 crew on board, had sunk off the coast of Eregli in northwest Turkey’s Zonguldak province and that the body of one crew member had been retrieved.
The ship’s captain had reported on Sunday morning that the vessel was drifting toward the harbor town of Eregli, 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of Istanbul.
However, the Turkish-flagged Kafkametler sank Sunday after hitting a breakwater outside Eregli.
Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the vessel was on its way to the western Turkish port of Izmir when the tragedy happened.
The search-and-rescue operation was delayed by several hours because of the severe weather, officials said. But as the condition eased, rescuers Monday found the body of the ship’s cook, Uraloglu added.
SEVERAL KILLED
At least three people were killed in the storms in the town of Eregli, while five people died in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Batman after being swept away by floodwaters caused by heavy rains, Yerlikaya said.
The victims reportedly included a grandmother and her three grandchildren. Some 50 people were hurt.
Footage obtained by Worthy News showed what appeared to be a tsunami hitting the area, turning streets into violent rivers, and taking cars and other properties with them.
Another cargo ship, the Cameroon-flagged Pallada broke into two due to heavy weather conditions after running aground in 5-meter (16-foot) waves off Eregli, the Maritime General Directorate said. All 13 crew were rescued safely.
And, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said inmates had been transferred from Eregli’s prison to surrounding facilities due to rising water levels.
In neighboring Bulgaria, gale-force winds and heavy rain and snow claimed the lives of two people Sunday and disrupted power supplies.
Officials declared a state of emergency in the Black Sea city of Varna.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The incoming Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune threatened Sunday to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) unless it drops the arrest warrant it issued against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes committed after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel triggered the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
A newly published study by the Austria-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) shows there were over 2,400 reported hate crimes targeting Christians in Europe last year.
President-Elect Trump confirmed his plans to declare a national emergency, aiming to manage the deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants with the assistance of the U.S. military.
Christians in the Philippines appealed for prayers Sunday after authorities warned of “life-threatening” surges as the sixth massive storm hitting the nation in the past month intensified.
Poland says it has scrambled fighter jets and mobilized “all available forces” on Sunday amid a “massive” Russian missile and drone attack on neighboring Ukraine that killed at least seven people.
Christian residents in the Dutch town of Urk, known for its many churches and fishing traditions, are providing shelter to Jews after the Netherlands’ first pogrom since World War Two.
The ‘Days of Repentance’ operation launched by Israel against Iran in late October targeted and destroyed a highly secretive nuclear weapons research facility in Parchin, according to Axios.