US ship joins search for Turkish plane and pilots

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s Foreign Ministry says a US deep-sea exploration vessel will help search Syrian waters for pilots missing from a Turkish military plane shot down by Syria.

A ministry official said the research vessel, E/V Nautilus, will set sail from Istanbul later Friday and is expected to join a search for the plane’s wreckage early next week.

The official said Damascus had been notified that the ship would join the search, and Turkish officials would be on board to coordinate the mission. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules.

The E/V Nautilus was already in Turkey for an exploration of the Black, Aegean and Mediterranean seas.

The downing of the plane has spiked already tense Turkish-Syrian relations.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.