Cargo ship sinks off Greek Island, leaving 14 missing

The Greek Coast Guard reported Sunday that a Comoros-flagged cargo ship with 14 people on board sank off the island of Lesbos in gale-force winds, necessitating a large rescue mission.

According to Ert state-run television, a navy chopper picked up one crew member.

The rescue mission included five cargo ships, three coast guard vessels, air force, and Navy helicopters, and a naval frigate.

The cargo ship, which was loaded with salt, had 14 crew members. It went down early Sunday, 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 kilometres) southwest of Lesbos. The ship had set sail from Dekheila, Egypt, bound for Istanbul.

Two Syrians, four Indians, and eight Egyptians are among the crew members.

Ships remained docked across several Greece on Saturday, with wind speeds hitting 9-10 on the Beaufort scale, indicating a high gale-to-storm force.

The Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY) updated an emergency weather warning on Saturday from ‘worsening weather’ to ‘dangerous weather phenomena’, as Storm Oliver (also known as Bettina) proceeded from the Adriatic Sea toward Greece.

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