Freighter sinks near Lesvos; One rescued, one dead, 12 crew still missing

The freighter sailed under the Comoros Islands flag and is managed by a company based in Lebanon. It was carrying salt from Egypt to Istanbul with 14 crew - 1 Indian national, 11 Egyptian nationals and 2 Syrian nationals. The man rescued earlier is one of the Egyptian nationals and he was transferred to the hospital of Mytilini on Lesvos.

At 07:00 on Sunday morning the ship had notified it had a mechanical failure. At 08:20, the captain said the ship was listing and activated an emergency call to nearby ships. The ship then disappeared off radars.

The search and rescue efforts are ongoing in very rough seas, after a weather phenomenon that brought winds registering up to 9 and 10 on the Beaufort scale at sea.

Assisting the search and rescue in the area are 8 nearby ships, a frigate of the Hellenic Navy and a helicopter.