Russian warship sinks after Black Sea collision

By Nurettin Coskun and Hanife Sevinc

ISTANBUL

A Russian warship sank off Turkey’s Black Sea coast on Thursday after colliding with a merchant freighter, the Coast Guard said.

The Liman, a surveillance vessel, hit a freighter carrying livestock 18 nautical miles (33 kilometers) off the European coastline to the northwest of where the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea.

The crews of both ships were rescued, the Coast Guard added.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the Liman was holed below the waterline in the collision.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim spoke with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev by telephone about the incident.

The reason for the accident remains unknown.