The Turkish authorities are continuing the search and rescue efforts for the missing crew of the cargo ship “Batuhan A”, with 571 personnel, in the form of air and land search and sea search and rescue.

The cargo ship “Batuhan A,” a 69-meter general cargo vessel sunk off İmralı Island on February 15.

Ali Yerlikaya, Minister of the Interior, said the incident took place in the Sea of Marmara, off Bursa Karacabey.

The Turkish-flagged ship succumbed to severe storms, taking on water and sinking, with efforts launched to locate the crew.

The Hürriyet Daily News now reports that the search for the missing crew on board Batuhan A cargo ship continues with an unmanned underwater robot.

“Teams conducting day-long reconnaissance with 4 boats from above the sea are imaging and scanning the area with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The ROV can bring the elements detected underwater to the surface of the sea with the help of the gripper arm in the mechanism attached to it,” Hürriyet Daily News said.

As it is also reported by Hürriyet, Bursa’s Governor Mahmut Demirtaş shared that divers dove into the shipwreck for the eighth time on Feb. 19 and said, “They will try to enter the engine room of the ship and continue the search activity there.”

Demirtaş stated that search and scanning activities have also accelerated on the coast of Balıkesir and added, “Drones are being used to scan the coast. Search activities continue with great care by airplanes and helicopters from the air, teams on land and boats from the sea.”