UPDATED: Iraq pulls out sunken ship, retrieves 16 victims’ bodies
Iraqi maritime teams use a crane to pull out a sunken ship in Khur Abdullah, Basra , and search for victims.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi maritime authorities managed early Thursday to pull out a vessel that had capsized earlier this week following a collision with a foreign ship, and retrieved 16 corpses of its crew members.
The Iraqi transport ministry said Thursday that rescue teams, using a marine crane, pulled out al-Misbar, a state-owned support vessel, which capsized last Saturday following a collision with Royal Arsenal, a Saint Vincent-registered ship, in Khur Abdullah Bay in Basra.
Minister Kazem Finjan said in a press statement quoted by Alsumaria News that the ship was pulled out completely.
Alghad Press quoted maritime sources saying 16 dead bodies were retrieved from the water.
The minister said he could not confirm reports that Kuwaiti authorities, which had taken part in the search for the sunken ship, had managed to retrieve three crew survivors.
Commenting on investigations around the deadly incident, Finjan said initial information had found that a glitch in the steering system could have been the reason.
The Iraqi seaports company said Wednesday it prevented Royal Arsenal from leaving territorial waters as per a verdict by a local court in Basra.
Iraqi rescue teams had managed to save 10 sailors, while four were found dead.