Newsletters
A Turkish ship's cook died after the vessel that had rescued him from an earlier drone attack was itself struck off the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, his family said, in an attack that also left eight crew members injured.
Ilker Lazoglu, 47, was working as head cook aboard the cargo ship Necibe when it came under drone attack in waters near Novorossiysk. He was evacuated along with 17 other sailors to the Cameroon-flagged RoRo vessel Ural, owned by a Turkish company, only for that ship to be hit by a drone strike as well. Lazoglu was killed and eight others wounded in the second attack, according to his family.
The Ural later arrived at the port of Samsun on Türkiye's Black Sea coast, carrying Lazoglu's body and the injured crew members.
Lazoglu's uncle, Faruk Lazoglu, said his nephew called him immediately after the first strike on the Necibe to reassure him. "He was head cook on the Necibe. He called me when the ship was bombed. He told me not to worry, that he was alive," Faruk Lazoglu said. He said his nephew told him another vessel would soon arrive to rescue the crew and that he would transfer to it.
Two days later, Faruk Lazoglu said he was unable to reach his nephew by phone and instead contacted a company official, who told him Lazoglu was safe and would be flown home. "But after a while, we again had no news," he said.
He said he later learned his nephew had been moved to the Ural and that the ship had also come under attack. "The official called me from his own phone around 6 or 7 in the evening. He said they had taken Ilker onto the ship called Ural, but that the ship had been bombed again, and that my nephew was seriously wounded in the attack. We didn't sleep until morning. Then we learned he had died," Faruk Lazoglu said.
Faruk Lazoglu said he had also spoken with his nephew by phone during the attack on the Ural itself. "I spoke with him when the Ural was bombed. He said, 'Don't worry, there's nothing wrong, stay calm. No one has been hurt right now.' He said they were waiting for help. After that, we lost contact. That night, the ship he had boarded was bombed," he said.
Faruk Lazoglu said his nephew had worked aboard ships for roughly 10 to 15 years and lived in Istanbul, while the rest of the family remained in Samsun. He said Lazoglu was the father of two daughters. The family said it was awaiting the return of his body.
The Ural reached waters off Samsun escorted by tugboats before docking at the city's port, carrying Lazoglu's body along with the injured crew members. Following the ship's arrival, Lazoglu's remains were handed over to his family, while the wounded crew members were taken to hospitals in the city by ambulance.
Novorossiysk is one of Russia's principal Black Sea ports and a key hub for the country's oil exports. Commercial shipping in the Black Sea has faced repeated risks from drone and missile attacks amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, with vessels transiting the region periodically reporting damage or disruption.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
