Moscow, Dec 15 (IANS): At least one person died after two Russian oil tankers were damaged in the Kerch Strait near the Black Sea due to bad weather conditions, the country's Ministry of Emergency Situations said Sunday.
The ministry said the damaged tanker Volgoneft-212 ran aground, and the other, Volgoneft-239, was drifting on the sea. The tankers had 13 and 14 people on board, respectively, while earlier reports said there were 29 crew members on board, Xinhua news agency reported.
One crew member on the Volgoneft-212 died, and the others were rescued, it added.
TASS reported that the tankers each carried over four tonnes of fuel oil. It also cited water transport authorities as saying that oil spills have been registered.
Regional investigators have opened criminal cases for traffic safety violations and maritime transport operations that led to a fatality due to negligence.