Turkish cargo ship, Greek tanker collide, one dead

ATHENS, Jun 1 (Reuters) A Turkish-operated cargo ship today sank after colliding with a Greek tanker in the Aegean Sea and one Turkish sailor was killed, officials in Greece and Turkey said.

Five sailors were missing from the Panamanian-flagged ''Han'' cargo ship, which was operated by a Turkish ship owner and had a crew of 13, a Turkish Chamber of Maritime Commerce official said.

Officials said the reason for the collision was not immediately known, but the area is known for its heavy shipping traffic.

''All 11 members of the crew of the Greek tanker are safe and the tanker has also rescued seven crew members from the cargo ship, all of them Turks,'' a Greek Merchant Marine Ministry official told Reuters.

''The nationality of the one dead and those missing are not known,'' she said. Turkish chamber officials said the dead man was a Turkish sailor.

The cargo ship, carrying steel, had left Turkey for the Moroccan port of Casablanca.

The Greek ministry official said the crash had not caused any oil leak from either of the ships.

The collision took place some 16 nautical miles southeast of the island of Hydra.

Several rescue helicopters, three coastguard vessels and a Greek Navy frigate as well as smaller private boats were scouring the waters off the island to locate the missing crew members.

REUTERS SI KP2030