Russian cargo ship sank in Mediterranean Sea with two crew missing, Russian Foreign Ministry says

Russian military cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after engine room explosion, with two crew members missing as rescue operations continue off Spanish coast.

 Russian cargo ship Ursa Major transits Istanbul's Bosphorus (photo credit: Yoruk Isik/REUTERS)
Russian cargo ship Ursa Major transits Istanbul's Bosphorus
(photo credit: Yoruk Isik/REUTERS)

A Russian cargo ship called 'Ursa Major' sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria, and two of its crew are missing, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The ship went down after an explosion in its engine room, and 14 of its 16 crew members have been rescued and brought to Spain, the ministry said in a statement.

It did not say what had caused the explosion.

According to The Guardian, two additional vessels and a helicopter were sent to the scene, but two crew members were still missing. 

A Russian warship arrived later and took charge of the rescue operations.

 Survivors of Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sinking arrive in Cartagena (credit: Jose Maria Rodriguez/Reuters)
Survivors of Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sinking arrive in Cartagena (credit: Jose Maria Rodriguez/Reuters)

The vessels was allegedly seen leaning

The vessel, Ursa Major, was constructed in 2009.  It is controlled by Oboronlogistika, a company that is used by the Russian defense ministry, which said it had been en route to the eastern port of Vladivostok with heavy equipment on its deck.

According to Euronews, Russian outlets shared footage allegedly made on Monday by a passing ship showing the Ursa Major heavily leaning, though Euronews could not verify the footage.