Turkey: 15 rescued after fire at cargo ship

By Huseyin Altinalan</p> <p>ISTANBUL (AA) – At least 15 crew members were evacuated after a fire erupted at a dry cargo vessel off Istanbul’s southern coast on Friday, a local official said. </p> <p>Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya told Anadolu Agency that the fire erupted at around 6.20 a.m. local time (GMT 0320) off the Istanbul’s Pendik district in Marmara Sea. </p> <p>“A police boat was dispatched to the scene. 15 crew members were rescued and taken to [Istanbul’s] Kartal port,” Yerlikaya said. </p> <p>The fire has been extinguished and the process of cooling is in progress.</p> <p>The cargo ship coming from Beirut anchored off shore in Pendik on Jan. 2. The Togo-registered ship is owned by a Turkish national and all the crew members aboard are foreigners.