Severe storms and flooding have resulted in nine fatalities across Turkey, officials reported on Monday.

Among the casualties was a seaman who lost his life when the Turkish-flagged cargo ship Kafkametler sank off the Black Sea coast.

The vessel, en route to Izmir in western Turkey, collided multiple times with a breakwater outside the harbor in Eregli, located approximately 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of Istanbul, before succumbing to the sea.

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu revealed that the adverse weather conditions delayed the search-and-rescue operation by several hours.

However, as conditions improved, rescuers discovered the body of the ship’s cook on Monday, the Associated Press reported.

In addition to the maritime incident, at least three individuals perished in the storms in Eregli, while five lost their lives in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Batman, swept away by floodwaters resulting from heavy rains, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.

The victims included a grandmother and her three grandchildren, with approximately 50 people sustaining injuries.

Another cargo ship, the Cameroon-flagged Pallada, split into two amid challenging weather conditions after running aground in 5-meter (16-foot) waves off Eregli, as confirmed by the Maritime General Directorate. Fortunately, all 13 crew members were safely rescued.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc reported the transfer of inmates from Eregli’s prison to surrounding facilities due to rising water levels.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Bulgaria, gale-force winds, heavy rain, and snow claimed two lives on Sunday, disrupting power supplies and prompting the declaration of a state of emergency in the Black Sea city of Varna.

Written by B.C. Begley