Two Russian cargo ships are in distress near Crimea after bad weather

CNN
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Two Russian cargo ships carrying oil products are in distress after bad weather in the Kerch Strait between the Russian mainland and annexed Crimea, the country’s emergency ministry said on Sunday.

A helicopter rescue team has been flown to the site of one of the vessels, “Volgoneft 212”, which was damaged after running aground, prompting the crew to request assistance, the ministry said. The ship’s 13-man crew has been evacuated, the ministry added. One person is known to have died.

Another cargo ship, “Volgoneft 239,” went adrift after sustaining damage in the same region, the ministry said. The other vessel has 14 people on board.

“The operational headquarters is functioning. More than 50 specialists and 11 equipment units are already involved in the effort. Further details are being clarified,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that the extent of a possible oil spill is being assessed.

A video circulating on unofficial Ukrainian and Russian Telegram channels appears to show a large cargo ship broken in half, with water spilling over the edge of the vessel’s upper deck as choppy waves shake it from side to side.

The bow of a ship, which can be seen in the background of the video, is broken off and appears just above the waterline. Crew members can be seen wearing life jackets as the camera pans.

CNN has not been able to independently confirm the location of the video.

Ukraine has regularly targeted Russian infrastructure in or near Crimea, a territory it is seeking to recapture after it was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, but there is no suggestion that the incidents are conflict-related.