ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A cargo ship sank off southern Greece within minutes of colliding with another freighter in fair weather Monday, leaving two Syrian seamen dead and eight others missing, officials said. Seven sailors were rescued.

It was not clear exactly why the Antigua- and Barbuda-flagged Consouth collided with the Cook Islands-flagged Pirireis in the Mediterranean Sea. The accident occurred before 7 a.m. about 78 miles (125 kilometers) southwest of Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula, a Merchant Marine Ministry statement said.