Two vessels have collided at about 05:40 pm today, 10 miles southeast of Emine Cape. One of the vessels Karim 1 was sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone. Nine of the 10 sailors on Karim 1 are from Syria, and one is from Egypt. Because of the collision the ship sunk. Four people were rescued by the crew, the remaining 6 are gone missing. The other ship Alessandro DP, under a Dutch flag, is an oil tanker. The tanker was sailing empty and suffered minor damages.
At the scene there are three boats of Border Police, a cutter Executive Agency "Maritime Administration" and 3 merchant ships involved in the rescue operation. Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Alexandar Tsvetkov is on his way to Varna and at 09:00 pm will give a briefing in the rescue-coordination center of the Maritime Administration. |