Sailors missing after gale-force winds sink freighter off Greek island
Hellenic Navy officials said the vessel sank off the island of Lesbos in the East Aegean Sea during rough seas from a storm system Greek's national meteorologists are calling Storm Bettina.
Another round of flooding for Greece
Video from September 2023 shows flood weary drivers forging through rivers in the streets after Storm Elias dumped inches of rain on Volos, Greece. The area is still recovering from Storm Daniel last month.
The Greek Coast Guard continues to search for the missing crew of a cargo ship that sank off the island of Lesbos on Sunday as a low-pressure system moving across the country rocked the seas around Greece with gale-force winds.
The Athens News Agency reported the freighter "Raptor" sank off the island of Lesbos on Sunday with 14 people onboard. The ship was sailing from Egypt to Istanbul when its captain radioed for help because of a mechanical issue.
One was rescued using a Hellenic Navy helicopter, according to the news outlet. A massive search for the 13 remaining crew continues.
Hellenic Navy officials said the vessel sank off the island of Lesbos in the East Aegean Sea during rough seas from a storm system Greek's national meteorologists are calling Storm Bettina.
The Hellenic National Meteorological Center issued a Code Orange emergency warning of dangerous weather on Friday as the low-pressure system moved toward Greece.
Medical staffs carry on a stretcher a survivor from the Comoros-flagged cargo ship that has sunk off the island of Lesbos, at a hospital on Lesbos Island on November 26, 2023. A Comoros-flagged cargo ship with 14 people on board has sunk off the island of Lesbos in gale-force winds, the Greek coastguard said on November 26, 2023, prompting a major rescue operation. A navy helicopter picked up one crew member of the RAPTOR cargo ship, according to the coastguard, who has been taken to Lesbos General Hospital. (Photo by Manolis LAGOUTARIS / AFP) (Photo by MANOLIS LAGOUTARIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Forecasters said stormy weather was expected throughout the entire country, including heavy rain and snowfall in the highlands. The temperature was forecast to drop by 8 to 10 degrees in the Ionian region by Sunday.
Gale Warnings were in effect for most of the Aegean Sea, Black Sea and coastal Greece through Sunday.
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Winds were forecast to reach 9 or 10 on the Beaufort Wind Scale in the Black Sea and 7 or 8 in the Aegean Sea over the weekend. According to the National Weather Service, 9 on the Beaufort Wind Scale includes high waves, winds up to 54 mph and reduced visibility at sea.
Weather conditions were forecast to improve for Greece on Sunday as Storm Bettina moved into the Northwest Black Sea toward Libya.
The same storm is prompting weather warnings across Eastern Europe and blizzard conditions in Romania and Ukraine.
Why does a windstorm have a name?
Satellite data shows a winter storm moves off the Black Sea into Eastern Europe bringing blizzard conditions.
(FOX Weather)
Similar to how the National Hurricane Center has a list of names for hurricanes, other countries have names for windstorms based on the region in which the country is located.
Greece is part of the Eastern Mediterranean Group, including Cyprus and Israel.
In September, a deadly severe weather system, dubbed Storm Daniel, brought historic amounts of rain across the Mediterranean, including more than 30 inches in Greece.