A Turkish cargo ship with 10 crew on board sank on Wednesday morning in the Black Sea near the Asian side of Istanbul and a search and rescue operation is underway, the coast guard said. The cause was still unclear. The ship, Bilal Bal, sent a distress signal early on Wednesday, November 1, the coast guard command said in a statement. The ship was carrying cast iron from Turkey’s northwestern province of Bursa to the northern province of Zonguldak, Dogan news agency reported. “Unfortunately, one of our cargo ships sank in ... the Black Sea,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. Search and rescue operations were continuing, he said. Three boats, one helicopter and one plane belonging to the coast guard were conducting search and rescue operations, according the coast guard. Lifeboats, life jackets and other gear believed to belong to the stricken vessel were found on the surface, the coast guard said. Five boats more were deployed to aid in the operations, as well as a remotely operated underwater vehicle from the Turkish naval forces, it said. The ship left from a port in the northwestern province of Bursa on Friday, Hurriyet daily reported.