Cargo ship carrying 83 people sinks off Lebanon

BEIRUT: A cargo ship carrying 83 crew members and a load of cattle sank off the Lebanese coast in stormy weather, and hours later rescuers had

pulled 12 people from the water, officials have said.

Vessels from the Lebanese navy and a UN peacekeeping force in the country were trying to find and rescue others from the sunken ship, which was believed to have been sailing from Uruguay to the Syrian port of Tartous.

Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, identified the Panamanian-flagged ship as the Danny F II. It sank 17 kilometres from the Lebanese city of Tripoli in a heavy rainstorm.

The vessel sent a distress call yesterday afternoon, but had sunk before a Lebanese navy ship reached the area, a senior Lebanese army officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A civilian vessel was also called in to help, and UNIFIL sent an Italian frigate, a German mine hunter and a German supply ship.

Yesterday's sinking comes a week after a freighter heading to an Israeli port sank in stormy weather in international waters near the Lebanese coast. Six of its 12 crew members were rescued. That ship was headed from Greece to the northern Israeli port of Haifa.