A Russian naval reconnaissance warship has collided with a Togo-flagged boat near Turkey’s Black Sea coast and started sinking, prompting an evacuation.

A Turkish coastal safety official said all 78 crew members had been evacuated from the Russian ship. The official did not give any details on the Togo-flagged ship or the condition of its crew.

Coastguard and emergency teams were dispatched to the site of the collision, 25 miles north-west of the Bosphorus strait.

Russia’s defence ministry said its vessel, the Liman, had a hole as a result of the incident. In a statement, the ministry said none of the crew members were hurt.

The shipping agent GAC said the Liman and the other boat had collided in fog and low visibility.

The Liman is a former research vessel that the Russian navy has retrofitted into a reconnaissance ship.

In February, sources in the military told Russian media it would be observing Nato’s Sea Shield exercise in the Black Sea.