Quds, April 20, SPA -- A cargo ship laden with cement sank off Israel's coast on Wednesday in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea after setting sail from Egypt destined for Syria, the Israeli army said. A military spokesman said four crewmen were believed missing from the small cargo ship, and Israeli naval vessels launched searches alongside U.S. and French forces. Israel received a distress signal from a ship traveling near the vessel shortly before it sank on Wednesday afternoon. Both ships were 56 kilometres (35 miles) west of the northern Israeli coastal city of Nahariya at the time, the army said. Three crewmen rescued from the ship before it capsized have said the vessel originated in Egypt, and was headed to Syria with a cargo of cement and four other crewmen on board.
