Syrian ship drowns off the Israeli coast

The Israeli army announced that a Syrian ship loaded with cement drowned off Israel in the Mediterranean, and that four members of its crew were considered missing.

A military spokesman said that another ship sailed from the Israeli Ashdoud port was able to rescue three members of the ship team which was heading from Egypt to Syria.

The spokesman said that the three rescued persons are two Syrians and one Egyptian who were all taken to a Syrian ship that in turn took them to Syria, stressing that search is continuing for the other four.

News reports in Naharia said that one Israeli small military vessel carrying some missiles arrived at the sites of the incident, stressing that the hospitals received no casualties.

The devastated ship sent the rescue signal which was received by the Israeli "Edwara" ship which was in Ashdoud port heading for Turkey. Reasons behind the drowning of the ship were not disclosed.