5 Killed As Greek Oil Tanker Collides with Turkish Fishing Boat

On Wednesday, at least five people were killed after Turkish fishing boat collided with a Greek-flagged oil tanker off Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

The Turkish coast guards managed to recover four bodies and was still searching for a fifth person, according to the Adana governor's office.

The incident occurred at dawn between the Turkish Polatbey fishing boat and the Greek-flagged Ephesus, about 15 nautical miles off the coast of Karatas, in Adana province.

A search-and-rescue operation involving three coast guard boats and a team of pers were launched shortly after communications with the boat was lost.

The cause of the incident wasn't immediately known.

The two countries are at odds over overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources in the region. A similar advisory, or Navtex, last month prompted a dispute that was calmed after the intervention of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, leading Turkey to agree to a pause in operations.

But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Turkey had resumed energy exploration work in the region as Greece had not kept its promises on the issue.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a meeting of the government council for defense issues on Monday which examined "ways of reaction to the Turkish provocation," the conservative premier's office said.