MADRID, December 24. /TASS/. Spain has handed the responsibility for rescuing a Russian cargo ship over to a Russian warship, the kingdom’s Maritime Rescue Service told TASS.

"A distress signal from the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major was received yesterday when it was located around 57 miles off Almeira," the regulator said. "Having discovered the lifeboat, the service <...> rescued 14 people on board and took them to Cartagena," it added.

A Russian warship arrived in the area later and "took over rescue efforts from Spanish authorities," the Spanish service specified. According to it, the Ursa Major sank last night. The Spanish Maritime Rescue Service is currently staying in the area of the accident in order to remove floating objects that can pose a danger to navigation and to check whether the marine environment might have been polluted.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Crisis Management Center said that the heavy lift vessel had sunk in Mediterranean Sea after an explosion in the engine room. Fourteen out of the 16 crew members have been rescued, but two are still missing. The Russian embassy in Madrid said it maintained close contact with the Spanish authorities over the accident.

Spain’s El Espanol newspaper reported earlier that a Russian vessel had capsized in international waters between the Spanish Autonomous Community of Murcia and Algeria. According to the report, the ship left St. Petersburg about two weeks ago, heading to the port of Vladivostok, where it was expected on January 22.