MOSCOW (Reuters) -A ferry loaded with fuel tanks sank in the Russian port of Kavkaz in southern Krasnodar region on Thursday after a Ukrainian attack, local authorities said.
The ferry carrying 30 fuel tanks, as confirmed by Fyodor Babenkov, district head of the town of Temryuk which includes the port, sustained significant damage as a result of the attack, which caused a fire.
Any potential casualties are being assessed. According to unofficial Telegram news channel Baza, 15 people were on board the ship and were missing after the attack. Ukraine has not immediately commented on the incident.
Russian state news agency TASS, citing the ministry of transport, reported that all port employees were evacuated.
A local task force said a special train to tackle the fire had been sent to the site. More than 100 people were engaged in tackling the blaze.
Several Russian media outlets have shared images and videos that appear to depict the blaze and plumes of black smoke rising from the ship. Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.
The fire didn’t spread to the premises of the port, TASS reported.
The port of Kavkaz is one of Russia’s largest outlets on the Black Sea. It handles ships both for exports and for fuel supplies to Crimea.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Maxim Rodionov and Ksenia Orlova; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Holmes)
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