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10 crew members dead after 2 cargo ships catch fire near Crimea

Click to play video: 'At least 10 dead, 10 missing as fire rages on Black Sea ships'
At least 10 dead, 10 missing as fire rages on Black Sea ships
WATCH: Ten crew died and another 10 were missing presumed dead in a fire that broke out on two ships while they were transferring fuel in the Black Sea, Russia's Transport Ministry said on Tuesday. – Jan 22, 2019

MOSCOW — Ten crew members have been found dead and 14 have been rescued after two ships caught fire in the Kerch Strait near Crimea, Russia’s transport ministry said on Monday, with a rescue operation still underway.

The ministry said earlier on Monday that crew members were jumping into the sea to escape the blaze, which probably broke out during a ship-to-ship fuel transhipment.

READ MORE: Russia seized Ukrainian ships and sailors, then blamed ‘banditry’. Here’s what you need to know

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Both ships were under the Tanzanian flag — Candy (Venice) and Maestro — and had a combined total of 31 crew members. Of them, 16 were Turkish citizens and 15 from India, it said.

An industry source told Reuters there were stormy conditions in the sea when the incident happened.

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Smoke rises from a fire at a ship in the Kerch Strait near Crimea, Jan. 21, 2019. Reuters TV

The Kerch Strait between Russian-annexed Crimea and southern Russia controls access from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea, where there are both Russian and Ukrainian ports.

In November, Russia detained three Ukrainian navy vessels and their crews in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait, fueling tensions between the two countries. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

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