A ship carrying a North Korean flag sank at the Syrian port of Tartus, killing one sailor and leaving another missing, Syria's official news agency SANA reported Saturday, according to DPA. The ship reportedly owned by a Turk was loaded with 2,050 tons of marble and had seven Turkish crew onboard when it sank on Friday, SANA said. Ali Khalil, head of the port at Tartus, 280 kilometres northwest of Damascus, told SANA that the ship "broke in half and sank north of the entrance canal leading to the port" without being able to send SOS signals. Five crew members were rescued and moved to Basel Hospital in Tartus while the captain was found dead and another sailor was missing, he added. Khalil blamed the accident on poor weather and the age of the ship which was built in 1951. Dr. Talal Hamdan, head of Basel Hospital said that the injured were treated at the hospital and all were in a good condition.
