ISTANBUL, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Nine crew members aboard a Turkish tanker have been detained following its collision with another Turkish-flagged vessel off Istanbul on Wednesday that led to the cargo ship sinking with its 10-member crew missing, local authorities said on Thursday.
The Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said it is conducting a judicial investigation into the accident. Nine of the 10 people aboard the Alsu, excluding the cook, have been treated as suspects.
The 9 crew members are being kept aboard the Alsu under gendarmerie supervision while the judicial and administrative investigations continue, with authorities also taking the vessel's safety into consideration, said the office.
The collision occurred around 3:00 a.m. local time (0000 GMT) on Wednesday when the Turkish-flagged cargo ship Tugberk Imamoglu sank after colliding with the Turkish-flagged Alsu about 18 nautical miles south of Istanbul's Silivri district in the Sea of Marmara.
The Tugberk Imamoglu was carrying 4,199 tonnes of steel coils from the southern port of Iskenderun to Karadeniz Eregli on Türkiye's Black Sea coast, and all 10 crew members aboard remain missing as of Thursday.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the ship was believed to have sunk in about 11 minutes following the collision, noting that the sea depth in the area is roughly 900 meters.
Search and rescue efforts continued at the site, involving 18 vessels, five helicopters, two unmanned aerial vehicles, one aircraft, and a Turkish Navy vessel conducting underwater searches, according to the authorities. ■
