Severe storms delay search for 12 crew missing after Turkish cargo ship sinks in Black Sea

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s interior minister says severe storms have delayed a search-and-rescue operation for 12 crew members of a cargo ship that sank off Turkey’s Black Sea coast. Ali Yerlikaya said the Turkish-flagged Kafkametler sank on Sunday after hitting a breakwater outside the harbor off the town of Eregli, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Istanbul. Rescue crews are on standby waiting for the weather conditions to ease to begin a rescue mission. The severe storms that hit northwestern Turkey caused widespread damage and disruption, including the breakup of another cargo ship and the evacuation of a prison. Meanwhile, two people were killed in southeastern Turkey, swept by floods caused by heavy rains.