One sailor rescued after sinking of freighter with 14 crew off Mytilene island

One sailor of the freighter 'Raptor' that sank off the island of Mytilene in the East Aegean early on Sunday was rescued by a Hellenic Navy helicopter, while a search is ongoing for another 13.

The freighter sailed under the Comoros Islands flag and is managed by a company based in Lebanon. It was carrying salt from Egypt to Istanbul with 14 crew - 1 Indian national, 11 Egyptian nationals and 2 Syrian nationals. At 07:00 on Sunday morning it had notified it had a mechanical failure. At 08:20, the captain said the ship was listing and activated the "mayday, mayday" emergency call to nearby ships. The ship then disappeared off radars.

Early assessments said the ship met with a rough sea in the Aegean - with northwesterly winds registering 8 on the Beaufort scale - and may have started taking in water, which would have contributed to its listing and subsequent sinking.

Assisting the search and rescue in the area are 5 nearby freighters, 3 port authority boats, and the helicopter, while a Greek Navy frigate is also assisting.