One dead, some 30 missing as ferry sinks off Turkish coast: officials

14/09/2008 23h39

A ferry passes the Bosphouros in a foggy day in Istanbul in 2007
©AFP/File - Hocine Zaourar

ANKARA (AFP) - At least one person died and about 30 remained unaccounted for after a ferry carrying at least 100 people and 75 vehicles sank late Sunday off northwestern Turkey, officials said.

The 118-metre roll-on-roll-off ferry sank within half an hour after leaving the port town of Bandirma, on the southern shore of the Marmara Sea, for Istanbul at 11:30 pm (2030 GMT).

One person died in hospital and 28 were injured, Selahattin Hatipoglu, the governor of Balikesir province, where the town is located, told NTV television.

"Sixty-seven people were rescued... We estimate that at least 30 people remain unaccounted for, but we cannot be sure because the exact number of people who boarded the vessel is unclear," he said.

"The search-and-rescue efforts are continuing but the dark is a problem," he added.

Some drivers were asleep inside their vehicles when the ferry sank, reports said.

Two night-vision helicopters were sent to Bandirma to assist the coast guard, civil defence teams, divers and local fishermen mobilised in the operation, officials said.

Television footage showed survivors being carried to the shore on dinghies and put on ambulances.

The entire 27-man crew was among the survivors, rescuers said.

Several people wearing life jackets were seen from the shore floating in the waters, the Haberturk news channel reported.

Bandirma sub-governor Salih Keser quoted the vessel's captain as saying that the ferry was carrying about 150 people as well as 73 trucks and two cars, Anatolia news agency reported.

The head of Turkey's maritime agency, Ozkan Poyraz, said they estimated that 101 people were on board.

The captain suggested the accident might have happened because of misplaced cargo, Keser said.

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