Cargo ship sinks off Ukraine’s Odessa after explosion, crew members missing

The Estonian-owned cargo ship Helt sunk on Thursday off the Ukrainian port of Odessa after an explosion, the vessel’s manager said.

Two crew members were in a life raft at sea while four others were unaccounted for, Igor Ilves, managing director of Tallinn-based manager Vista Shipping Agency, told Reuters.

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“The vessel has finally sunk,” he said. “Two of the crew are in a raft on the water and four others are missing. I don’t know where they are at the moment.”

Ilves said the vessel might have struck a mine.

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