Istanbul: A body was recovered during search operations for the crew of the sunken ship in the Sea of Marmara in Istanbul. The public prosecutor’s office in the Silivri district of Istanbul announced the discovery of a body during ongoing search and rescue operations for the crew members of the ship that sank off the coast of Silivri on September 2nd.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, this announcement came as part of a statement issued by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding its investigations into the collision between the merchant vessels “M/T Alsu” and “Tugberk Imamoglu” in the Sea of Marmara on September 2nd. The collision resulted in the sinking of the latter vessel, which had a crew of ten, all of whom were Turkish.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office stated in its announcement that the body of a man was found approximately 5 kilometers from the collision site during ongoing search and rescue efforts. It indicated that the body was transferred to the Forensic Medicine Institute to determine if it belonged to one of the missing crew members, to establish identity, and to accurately determine the cause of death.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office affirmed that investigations are continuing and that all necessary measures are being taken meticulously to uncover all the circumstances surrounding the incident. Turkish authorities had announced on the 7th of this month the discovery of the cargo ship Tugberk Imamoglu, which sank in the Sea of Marmara off Istanbul with 10 crew members on board after colliding with another vessel.

In a press release today, Turkish authorities stated that Turkish search and rescue teams located the Tugberk Imamoglu at a depth of 720 meters below sea level, following the collision off the coast of Silivri. They explained that after several days of searching, the rescue teams were able to locate the ship using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to photograph the ship on the seabed and confirm its location.

The cargo ship Tugberk Imamoglu collided with the cargo ship Alsu in the early hours of September 2nd off the coast of Silivri in the Sea of Marmara, Istanbul, causing it to sink immediately. The fate of its 10 Turkish crew members remains unknown.