06 Feb 14 dead
Fourteen crew members were reported to have died after a major fire broke out on two Tanzania registered ships in the Black Sea’s Kerch Strai which separates Crimea and Russia.
One of the vessels was a liquified natural gas carrier and the other an oil tanker. Preliminary reports said the fire erupted due to the failure of a pump being used to transfer fuel between the two ships.
Severe weather conditions prevented rescue ships from taking victims ashore for medical treatment and also thwarted efforts to rescue some crew members who jumped into the sea to avoid the flames.