Four Indians are among the 13 crew members who went missing after a cargo ship sank off the Greek island of Lesbos in stormy seas early on Sunday.
The Raptor, registered in the Comoros, was on its way to Istanbul from Egypt, carrying 6,000 tons of salt. It had a crew of 14, including eight Egyptians, four Indians and two Syrians. One of the Egyptian crew members was rescued soon after a massive search operation was launched.
The ship reported a mechanical problem at 7am on Sunday, sent a distress signal and shortly after disappeared about 8 km southwest of Lesbos, authorities said.
A coast guard spokeswoman told AP that eight merchant ships, two helicopters and one Greek navy frigate were searching for survivors. Three coast guard vessels had difficulty reaching the area because of rough seas, she added.
Northwesterly winds in excess of 80 kph per hour are blowing in the area, the national weather service said.
Earlier this month, a historic Greek warship was damaged by gale force winds after repeatedly hitting a dock.
The country has been struck by repeated flooding over recent months after facing a series of storms.