A Russian sailor died and two others were being treated for suspected poisoning on Wednesday following a toxic leak inside a tanker just off İstanbul, the local authorities said.
Officials were alerted to the emergency aboard the Panama-flagged tanker “Swanlake” at 5:30 pm (1430 GMT) when the vessel was several miles from İstanbul’s Asian coastline, the governor’s office said in a statement.
“The incident is believed to have been caused by a leak in the vessel’s cold tank. One crew member died and two others were poisoned and are under observation,” it said.
A cold tank is a refrigerated storage section inside a tanker, which is normally heavily insulated. It was not clear what this particular vessel was carrying.
“Efforts are under way to evacuate the 10 crew members and two injured individuals on board the ship,” it added.
© Agence France-Presse