Rescue of seamen suspended
Rescuers in South Africa said yesterday that they had suspended their search for 26 seamen, including four Greeks, who have been missing since Wednesday when their ship sank 300 nautical miles off Port Elizabeth. Since 18 of the missing men are thought to be Filipinos, the government in Manila said it would try to get more information from the Greek operator of the ship, which sank in notoriously treacherous waters. Rescuers said they would resume the search when they had new information. Meanwhile, four Greek sailors were rescued on Saturday after their ship suffered engine problems in rough seas off the southern coast of Evia, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. The Mongolian-flagged Bux 1 cargo ship sent out a distress call on Saturday afternoon when it was some 10 nautical miles off Kafieras. The vessel had been headed to Turkey. A coast guard boat and helicopter, a navy vessel and two other ships went to assist the crew. One sailor was airlifted to safety while navy seamen helped repair the ship’s engine.
