Emergencies Ministry reports on the condition of tankers in distress in the Kerch Strait

The tanker "Volgoneft-212", which crashed in the Kerch Strait, ran aground. This was reported on December 15 in the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia.

The footage from the scene shows the ship going underwater.

The second vessel Volgoneft-239, which was also carrying oil products, went adrift after sustaining damage, the agency's Telegram channel said.

Rosmorrechflot reported that a spill of oil products had been recorded.

Izvestiya source said that the tanker Volgoneft-212, which had about 5 tons of fuel oil on board, broke apart 7 km from the shore. According to preliminary data, the cause of the wreck could be a strong storm. The source specified that nine people were rescued from the vessel.

In addition, according to the source, the second vessel "Volgoneft-239" also broke in half. There were 14 sailors on board the ship, they left the vessel and are waiting for help from rescuers.

It became known earlier in the day that the tanker "Volgoneft 212" was in distress due to bad weather in the Kerch Bay. The signal of the tanker's distress to the Ministry of Emergency Situations came in the morning. In that area there are strong squally winds and sea excitement up to 7 points. The Mi-8 helicopter of the Russian Emergencies Ministry with rescuers on board flew to the rescue.

Some time later it became known about the damage of the second tanker. In the main department (GU) of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol reported that more than 50 people and 11 units of equipment are involved in the elimination of the incident. No casualties have been reported yet.