Russian and Ukrainian authorities launched a rescue and cleanup operation in the Black Sea on Monday after fatal storms sank five ships, including an oil tanker and three ships carrying sulphur, and left at least two sailors dead and 20 sailors missing, officials and news agencies said.
The oil tanker split in half and spilled more than 1,000 tons of fuel oil, and environmentalists expressed concern that the effects of the spill would last for years.
The official Russia Today Web site said five bodies were recovered. Two of those were confirmed to be sailors from the sunken ships, and Interfax said the other three were also believed to be seamen from the ships. 
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CNN Producer Igor Malakhov contributed to this report.
