Location of Kafkametler identified. 11 sailors are being searched for

The storm caused the Turkish-flagged dry cargo ship 'Kafkametler' to hit the breakwater and sink off the coast of the Ereğli district in Zonguldak.

While the lifeless body of 62-year-old Metin Usta, who worked as a cook on the ship, was found among fishing boats, a search and rescue operation was launched to find the other 11 sailors.

AERIAL SEARCH SUPPORTED BY UAVS

While the missing crew was being searched for by coast guard boats at sea and by aircraft, helicopters, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from the air, AFAD teams patrolled the coastline in case the bodies of the missing crew washed ashore.

EDUCATION SUSPENDED FOR 2 DAYS

In a statement made on the Governor's Office's social media account, it was stated, "Due to the negative impact of heavy rainfall and storms across the Karadeniz Ereğli district, education has been suspended for 2 days on Tuesday, November 21, and Wednesday, November 22, in all official and private formal and non-formal education institutions (including rehabilitation centers and private courses)."

"SEARCH OPERATIONS CONTINUE"

Minister of Interior Yerlikaya stated in a post on his social media account that search and rescue operations for the 11 missing sailors on the dry cargo ship "Kafkametler," which sank off the coast of the Karadeniz Ereğli district of Zonguldak, are continuing.

"I THANK OUR TEAMS"

Minister Yerlikaya said, "Our teams continued their work throughout the day, and our operations will continue from land throughout the night. I thank each of our teams who carried out search and rescue activities despite the adverse weather conditions. May God protect our country and our nation from all disasters."

HERE ARE THE 11 MISSING CREW MEMBERS

It was learned that the ship's crew included Captain Cemal Turan, 2nd Captain Hıfzı Tarhan, Radio Officer Berke Çamurtaş, Chief Engineer Veli Özel, 2nd Engineer Göksel Özel, Deckhand Tamer Özer, Able Seamen İsmail Kaptan and Satılmış Uslu, Seaman Mustafa Nacar, Master Machinist Cüneyt Aygen, and Oiler Ömer Hebip.

"THE LOCATION OF THE SHIP HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED"

AFAD President Okay Memiş made a statement regarding the search efforts for the ship named 'Kafkametler' that sank off the coast of the Ereğli district of Zonguldak: "As a result of the work we have done up to this hour, we have identified the location of the ship. We know that the ship sank exactly in the area that our expert colleagues had predicted.

"THE HURRICANE WAS IN THE FORM OF A TORNADO"

Our divers are currently intensifying search and scanning activities there. For 2 days, there was very heavy rainfall and an extreme storm in our region. We were even faced with a natural phenomenon that we could describe as a hurricane above the storm and an extreme wind called a 'tornado' that we are not accustomed to seeing in our country.

"OUR SEARCH FOR 11 PEOPLE CONTINUES"

We identified the location of the ship at the far end of the port, which we had predicted earlier. As you know, it had 12 crew members. Unfortunately, we had reached the lifeless body of 1 of these crew members. We are continuing the search, scanning, and rescue efforts for our 11 crew members.

"WE ARE SEARCHING WITH A TEAM OF 159 PEOPLE"

We have a search, scanning, and rescue team consisting of 159 people. In these activities, we are using AFAD, Coast Guard, Coastal Safety, Gendarmerie SAK, Police Divers, and volunteer divers, as well as 4 underwater robots. There is no adverse weather at the moment. However, because the sea is turbulent, visibility at the bottom drops to 25 centimeters. We are also flying our drones. Hopefully, we will provide information regarding our remaining 11 crew members in the coming process," he said.

RADIO OFFICER ASKED FOR FORGIVENESS FROM HIS FAMILY

It was revealed that the ship's radio officer, Mustafa Nacar, sent a message to his family during the incident and asked for their blessing (helallik). It was stated that the location of the shipwreck was identified today during the search efforts for the ship and its crew, which were carried out with boats and divers for the first time.

News Source: 12punto