Nine Ukrainians - members of the crew of the Russian bulk freighter Geroi Arsenala which sank in the Kerch Strait - are overboard in ice cold water and rescuers do not see an opportunity to help them. This was told by the head of the press service of the so-called Crimean department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation Vladimir Ivanov, - Interfax reports.
According to the preliminary data, 12 crew members were aboard; 9 of them are Ukrainian citizens, another two are Russians and one more is Georgian. All of them, after the crash, had time to put on lifejackets, but it was not possible to get them out of the icy water.
“The rescue team managed to save one of the twelve crew members, he experienced a bad hypothermia. The rescuers set visual contact with another four men, but cannot take them aboard due to strong waves moving them away from the boat. The actual condition of the rest of the crew is currently unknown”, - V. Ivanov said.
A source in the international maritime search and rescue services said that "according to the report of the crew, during the shipwreck, they encountered a violent storm. The crew failed to cope with it and the ship sank".
As it was reported, the ship, which transported grain cargo from Azov to Turkey, was wrecked. According to preliminary data, the cargo went under water completely. There were 12 people on board.