Russian scientist missing after ships collide off Sicily

A Russian scientist is missing after the research ship he was travelling on sank off the south coast of Sicily on Friday. The ship collided with a cargo vessel a few miles off shore.

Three Russians were among the 14 people onboard, two of them suffered light injuries.

The Russian Consul General in Palermo, Aleksandr Gusev, says the Russians' relatives will arrive in Italy on Monday.

“At 10 a.m. local time two ships collided four miles off coast of the south of Sicily. As a result of the collision, an Italian research ship sank. It had collided with a Panamanian flagged cargo ship. The cargo ship continued on its way without helping the research ship. There were 14 people on board the research ship, including three Russian oceanologists from a Moscow research institute. Everyone was saved but for Petr Mikheichik. The other two Russians are in hospital with light injuries,” said Aleksandr Gusev.