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Captain, crew members charged in immigrant shipwreck

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January 7, 2001 

ISTANBUL-- (AP) - The captain and three crew members of a cargo ship carrying illegal immagrants that broke in two, leaving 10 people dead, were charged by a court with negligence leading to death, newspapers reported Saturday.

The ship, heading from southern Turkey to Greece, was believed to be carrying more than 80 people, 40 of whom are missing. Thirty-three people were rescued after the ship hit rocks off thesouthern coast of Turkey on New Year's Day.

Most of the immigrants were from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

Under Turkish law, initial charges are pressed upon formal arrest. Prosecutors charged the ship's Greek captain, Polizois Gulanis, his second in command and two crew members with negligence leading to the death of one or more persons, daily Cumhuriyet reported.

Prosecutors are still investigating whether to charge the captain and crew with trafficking in people. It was not clear how many years of prison the crew faced if convicted.

Court officials could not be reached for comment Saturday and police confirmed that the four men had been arrested but were unable to confirm the charges.

Turkish authorities raised the death toll in the shipping accident to 10 Friday after doctors concluded that a severed leg that washed up ashore belonged to a refugee who was apparently torn apart when the ship broke up.

Authorities called off rescue efforts Wednesday, saying there was little hope of finding other survivors.

Thousands of illegal immigrants sneak into Turkey every year, hoping to make their way to prosperous European countries. Turkish authorities detained about 14,000 would-be refugees last year.