Russian firefighters contained a blaze aboard at a Turkish cargo ship Saturday outside the Black Sea port of Sochi as officials tried to decide what to do with the badly listing ship, AP reported. The ship, identified as the Boztepe, was sailing from the Turkish port of Trabzon under a Sierra Leonean flag carrying automobiles and fruit when it caught fire about 1 kilometer (half a mile) from shore Friday. After the ship began listing, workers were forced to tow it away from shore to keep it from blocking access to the port. All 21 crew members and 10 passengers, all Turkish citizens, were safely evacuated. Russian TV on Saturday showed fireboats trying to douse the smoking and charred ship with water and officials said later the fire had been contained, though parts of the ship, including the engine room, were still burning. Russian news agencies reported that the ship's owners have asked for the boat to be towed back to Turkey. Ekho Moskvy radio said the blaze may have been sparked in one of the half-dozen or so sport utility vehicles onboard. Sochi, a popular Russian vacation spot, last month won the right to host the 2014 Winter Games.
