Rescuers worked through the night in harrowing weather conditions with winds reaching 8 Beaufort in search of the remaining 12 missing crew members of the freighter which sunk 4.5 nautical miles southwest of the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos.
The vessel named “RAPTOR,” flying the flag of Comoros, had 14 people on board – one Indian, eleven Egyptians, and two Syrians. One crew member has been found dead and one crew member from Egypt was rescued alive, located by a navy helicopter on top of a barrel, four hours after the sinking of the ship. The sole survivor, a sailor, has been preemptively transported to the hospital in Mytilene.
Despite challenging weather conditions throughout the night, the Coast Guard was conducting search and rescue (SAR) operations in an attempt to locate the missing crew members. Seven ships, an open-sea floating vessel, and a helicopter are participating in the rescue efforts.
The ship had departed from the port of Dekheila, in Egypt, with a final destination being Istanbul. The search and rescue operations are ongoing under adverse weather conditions.
Meanwhile, the body discovered yesterday, Sunday has been identified as an Egyptian sailor.
Another Egyptian crew member, an engineer, informed Greek authorities that the ship started taking on water on Saturday night. However, as stated by the spokesperson for the Coast Guard, Nikos Alexiou, no mechanical failure was reported.
