Chicago Tribune: 20 sailors missing in storm off Turkey...

Twenty sailors were missing Friday and one was killed after two ships sank and several others collided or ran aground in stormy seas off the Turkish coast during a blizzard that swept through Southeastern Europe.

By Catherine Collins, Special to the Tribune. Tribune staff reporter Alan Solomon in Athens contributed to this report

February 14, 2004

ISTANBUL -- Twenty sailors were missing Friday and one was killed after two ships sank and several others collided or ran aground in stormy seas off the Turkish coast during a blizzard that swept through Southeastern Europe.

Turkish maritime officials closed the Bosporus and the Dardanelles for the second day Friday as the storm dumped a foot of snow on Istanbul.

After a three-hour search, the Turkish coast guard called off air and sea operations to find 20 crew members from a Cambodian-flagged coal freighter, Hera, that sank on the Black Sea, near the north entrance to the Bosporus.

Although two rescue ships and a tugboat crisscrossed the spot where the Hera was last reported before disappearing from radar, winds up to 60 m.p.h. and waves that crested at almost 20 feet hampered the search, said Baris Tozar, a coast guard official.

Poor visibility had caused two other cargo ships to collide at the south entrance of the Dardanelles late Thursday, killing one crew member on the Mare, a freighter registered in the Caribbean.

Strong currents forced two other ships, registered in Russia and North Korea, aground near the small village of Kilyos on the Black Sea on Friday. The coast guard rescued all 11 crew members from the Russian ship but still were struggling to reach the 16 members of the Korean vessel late Friday.

There also were reports of collisions involving at least two ferries crossing the Bosporus.

"The Bosporus is dangerous in the best of conditions," said Cahit Istikbal, secretary general of the Turkish Pilots Association. "It is narrow, with sharp turns and strong currents. But in bad weather, it is even more difficult to navigate."

While large tankers were left to weather the storm at sea, authorities allowed smaller ships through the strait with escorts. Officials feared that the small ships would be unable to withstand the high waves.

The Dardanelles was reopened to transit traffic late Friday afternoon.

The unusual storm snarled transportation across the Mediterranean. In Turkey, flights were canceled at Istanbul's main airport, stranding thousands of passengers.

In Athens, where many streets are lined with orange trees full of fruit, the government ordered schools closed. The capital's airport was shut down, and ferry service was cut off to several Greek islands.

Slick footing on marble walkways Friday forced closure of the Acropolis, site of the Parthenon, and other tourist sites; city advisories recommended that all but essential workers stay home as temperatures in the capital plunged to 15 degrees, the lowest in three decades.