Tanker sinks restaurant
2003-05-28 15:55
Istanbul - A Greek-registered oil tanker crashed into four floating restaurants on the Bosphorus, sinking one, the Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday.
The people aboard the floating restaurants managed to scramble ashore and there were no injuries. The remaining three restaurants were badly damaged.
The accident involving the Russian-crewed Polisini-1 occurred late Tuesday in the Arnavutkoy district, on the European side of Istanbul, at the narrowest point in the busy Bosphorus straits.
The ship, which might have been carried away by strong currents, continued on its route after the accident, but was stopped by maritime police as it entered the Marmara Sea in northwest Turkey.
An investigation has been launched, the report said.
Accidents of this kind are common in the Bosphorus Strait, a narrow waterway where navigation is difficult because of strong currents and blindspots.
In the last few months, a berthed yacht was crushed by a passing ship, a freighter rammed a floating restaurant and a tanker, loaded with sulphuric acid, ran aground.