MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A Russian Black Sea Fleet research vessel, the Liman, received a hull breach in the sea 40 kilometers from the Bosphorus, the crew were not injured, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
"On April 27 at 11.53 Moscow time, in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, 40 kilometers northwest of the Bosphorus Strait, the research vessel of the Black Sea Fleet, the Liman, as a result of a collision with the Ashot-7 vessel… received a starboard hole below the waterline. No one was injured among the crew. The crew… are fighting for the survivability of the vessel," the statement said.
Black Sea Fleet vessels and an An-26 plane with rescuers were sent to assist the sailors.