Italy's Special Forces storm Turkish cargo ship after migrants' hijack attempt | Oneindia News
Italy's Special Forces storm Turkish cargo ship after migrants' hijack attempt | Oneindia News
Italian special forces have stormed a cargo ship sailing from Turkey to France after about 15 migrants armed with knives attempted to hijack the vessel.
The asylum seekers, whose nationality has not been disclosed, had allegedly sneaked undetected on to the roll-on, roll-off cargo ship, named Galatea Seaways, in the hope of reaching Europe.
The vessel, designed to carry vehicles and sailing under a Turkish flag with 22 crew members, set off from Topçular in Turkey on 7 June and was headed for Sète in southern France.
However, once onboard, the stowaways were discovered by the crew and allegedly tried to take some of the sailors hostage inside the bridge using knives.
The captain of the ship managed to radio for help, sending an urgent request to Ankara, which subsequently reported the incident to the Italian authorities, as the ship was navigating off the Italian coast.
After the SOS call, Italian special forces were immediately pressed into action.
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