Russian naval ship collides with vessel in Black Sea

A reconnaissance ship belonging to the Russian Navy collided with a vessel in the Black Sea on Thursday due to heavy fog, but all were rescued, the Defence Ministry said.

The incident occurred off the Kilyos neighbourhood in Istanbul, not far from the Bosporus Strait.

The hull of "the Liman", a 1,560-tonne reconnaissance ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was breached below the waterline, with the crew fighting to keep the vessel afloat, the ministry said in a statement.

Later, the Turkish Coast Guard said it rescued 78 people from the Russian ship, according to TASS news agency.

The other ship was identified as the Togo-flagged livestock carrier "Youzarsif H".

"The Liman" was built during the Soviet times in Poland and commissioned in 1970. It is mostly unarmed, but carries a radar station, a hydroacoustic detector and other reconnaissance equipment needed to track surface ships and submarines.

--IANS

soni/bg