Thursday, 3 March 2022, 19:44

Border guards released audio messages from a crew member confirming that the civilian ship "HELT", under the Panamanian flag, had been destroyed by Russian aggressors.

Source: State Border Guard Service

Quote: "So far, we have received voice messages exchanged between the boatswain and the shipowner's representative:

‘You should know, Russia is to blame for everything, they started the war and also bombed the HELT.’ The boatswain of the wrecked ship had sent this message not knowing if he and the team would be able to escape.

According to the received message, the boatswain and the sea cook managed to make it off the ship and tried to find the rest of the crew."

Details: The ship has sunk. So far, a search operation has found 6 crew members, including 2 Russians and 4 Ukrainians, who have been rescued and brought ashore.