Turkey : efforts under way to rescue eight crew members in ship collision

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the Albanian authorities continued to rescue eight Turkish crew members who went missing after two ships collided in the Adriatic Sea, Turkish Anatolia news agency reported Friday. "The Albanian authorities continue their efforts to find and rescue the missing eight crew members," a statement issued by the ministry said. The Reina 1 cargo ship, owned by a Turkish company and sailing under a Maltese flag, collided early Thursday with a ferry named the Ankara in the vicinity of the port of Durres, Albania. Three people onboard the Reina 1 were killed and several others on the same ship were missing. The captain and his deputy of the cargo ship have been rescued, according to the statement. The Reina 1, carrying 3,100 tons of aluminium and en route from Russia to Montenegro, sank after the collision, while, the Ankara, with about 200 passengers onboard and on its way from Durres to the port of Italy's Bari, remained stranded at the scene. There were no casualties reported on the ferry which carried 189 passengers and 46 crew members, the statement said, adding that a Turkish frigate would arrive in the area early on Friday to join search and rescue efforts.