Five missing after ship collision in Black Sea

SOFIA - A freighter flying the flag of Sierra Leone sank after a collision with a Dutch tanker in the Black Sea Monday, leaving five crew members unaccounted for, the Bulgarian Interior Ministry said.

The Karim 1 went down during stormy weather 10 nautical miles off Cape Emine, a headland in Bulgaria. Five of its 10-member crew were rescued, all but one of them from Syria.

The Bulgarian news agency had earlier reported the stricken vessel was flying the flag of Cambodia.

The freighter was on its way to Istanbul. The tanker, which did not have any cargo, was travelling to the Bulgarian port of Varna. Authorities said there was no danger of an oil leak.

Varna was closed to shipping earlier Monday because of gale-force winds.