Turkish vessel with 16 crew sinks off Sicily coast

A Panama-flagged dry cargo vessel belonging to an Istanbul-based company sank 24 miles off Sicily in the Mediterranean on Saturday, Daily Sabah reported.

According to reports, Italian Coast Guard Command boats rescued 16 crew members after the vessel sank. The crew is reportedly in good condition and were brought to the Syracuse Port in Sicily.

The vessel reportedly loaded ammonium phosphate from Dakar Port, Senegal and was Croatia bound. It started sinking at 2:30 am and the shipmaster reportedly ordered everyone to abandon ship.

Named M/V Mustafa Kan, the dry cargo vessel was built in the Karadeniz Ere?li Madenci Shipyard and is 136 meters in length, 19 meters in width and has a capacity of 9,250 deadweight tonnage.