Ankara - A Turkish cargo ship carrying some 600 illegal emigrants hidden in its hold, mostly Turkish Kurds, ran aground on a sandbank in north-eastern Turkey during a storm on Saturday night, the Anatolia news agency said yesterday.
The Sirinbahce, which left Istanbul for Italy, fought off strong winds before running aground off Canakkale, the agency said.
Some 400 emigrants left the boat either swimming or on life boats, while the others remained on board. All of them - including Afghans, Iraqi Kurds, and Africans - were believed to have been rescued by security forces. However, police were still searching for the captain and crew, who abandoned the ship when it ran aground.