Death toll rises to 10 after missile strike on Turkish grain ship in Black Sea PHOTO/Updated

The death toll from a missile strike on the civilian cargo ship GOLDEN LEO in the Black Sea has risen to 10, Ukrainian authorities said, after rescuers recovered the bodies of four additional sailors.

Ukraine’s Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office said that nine foreign crew members and a Ukrainian maritime pilot were killed in the attack, which Kyiv has blamed on Russian forces, Ukrainian media reports.

“As of the morning of July 20, it is already known that 10 people were killed in the attack on the foreign civilian vessel. Seven more people were injured,” the prosecutor’s office said.

The Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office said those killed included foreign sailors aged between 19 and 53, as well as a 66-year-old Ukrainian pilot. Seven people were injured in the strike.

Ukrainian naval and maritime rescue units were deployed following the attack, with survivors evacuated and taken to hospitals in Odesa.

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Ukraine has accused Russia of striking a civilian cargo vessel carrying grain in the Black Sea, saying the attack killed six crew members and left four others missing.

According to the Ukrainian Navy, the Turkish-owned dry cargo ship GOLDEN LEO, sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau, was hit by three Russian Kh-59/Kh-69 cruise missiles while departing the combat zone with a cargo of grain, Ukrainian media reports.

Ukrainian authorities said one of the missiles struck the starboard side of the vessel's superstructure, triggering a fire on board. The ship was carrying a crew of 17 Syrian and Indian nationals, along with a Ukrainian maritime pilot.

Officials said six people were killed in the strike, while the fate of four other crew members remains unknown. Search and rescue operations were continuing at the time of reporting.

The Ukrainian Navy and the country's Maritime Search and Rescue Service were deployed to assist the vessel. Eight crew members were evacuated and transported to a hospital in the southern port city of Odesa for medical treatment.

By Sabina Mammadli