2 missing after Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean Sea

2 missing after Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean Sea
This picture taken on March 7, 2024 shows the Rubymar cargo ship partly submerged off the coast of Yemen. - The bulk carrier went down off Yemen after a Huthi missile attack and poses grave environmental risks as thousands of tonnes of fertiliser threaten to spill into the Red Sea, officials and experts warn. The Belize-flagged, Lebanese-operated Rubymar sank on Saturday with 21,000 metric tonnes of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertiliser on board, according to US Central Command. (Photo by Khaled Ziad / AFP)

MOSCOW, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) — Two people were missing and 14 others rescued after a Russian cargo ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Crisis Management Center said Tuesday.

The cargo ship Ursa Major, owned by Russian firm SK-YUG, sank after an explosion in the engine room, the center said in a statement, adding that all 16 crew members are Russian citizens.

The rescued members had been sent to the port city of Cartagena in Spain, the center said.

The Russian-flagged vessel left St. Petersburg 12 days ago and was supposed to arrive at the port of Vladivostok in Russia on Sunday, according to data from maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic.

The latest data from the vessel was received by the service around 20 hours ago.