Fire kills two on cargo ship off Istanbul

Maritime authorities in Turkey report that two people were killed after a fire broke out on board a locally-registered commercial vessel while it was underway east of Istanbul on Thursday, October 31.

The general cargo vessel FG Sevil had just departed Yalova and was en route to the Port of Burgas in Bulgaria when the blaze ignited in its engine room while it was in the Sea of Marmara off Sedef Island on Thursday.

The Directorate General of Coastal Safety (Kiyi Emniyeti Genel Mudurlugu; KEGM) immediately ordered the deployment of various vessels including the rescue boat KEGM-4 and the tugs Kurtarma 7 and Sark to render assistance.

Twenty-three personnel were safely evacuated by the crews of the responding KEGM vessels. Tragically, however, two other sailors were found unresponsive in the cargo ship's engine room and were later declared deceased.

FG Sevil has since been towed to a secure anchorage. An investigation has also been launched to identify the events that led to the tragedy.

KEGM said the personnel on board FG Sevil at the time of the fire included 17 crewmembers and eight workers from a local shipyard.