ISTANBUL

Efforts to rescue personnel who were kidnapped after a pirate attack on a Turkish cargo ship off Nigeria continue intensely, said Turkey's president, according to an official statement on Sunday.

In a new phone call with Furkan Yaren, the 4th captain of the Turkish cargo ship, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said initiatives launched immediately following the pirate attack to rescue the personnel continue intensely, Turkey's Communications Directorate said in the statement.

Closely following the developments, Erdogan was also kept informed of the health status of three crew members who survived the incident.

In the Saturday pirate attack, out of 19 or 20 crew members, 15 were kidnapped and three remained with the pirates -- both groups all apparently Turkish nationals -- while one Azerbaijani crew member was killed.

The Liberian-flagged cargo ship Mozart anchored at Gabon's Port Gentil at 0800GMT on Sunday.