Story By: Conor Sheils, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

A British man in his 50s has died aboard a Turkish ship sailing off Cyprus.

Christopher Ross Macculloch, 53, passed away after feeling unwell on Saturday morning while working aboard the Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha seismographic research vessel.

He was taken from the ship by helicopter and transferred to an airport near the village of Tymbou in Northern Cyprus.

He was then taken to a hospital where despite the efforts of medics he died at 11.45 am on Sunday morning.

He had been working aboard the vessel at the time of his death although his occupation on the ship has not been reported.

The condition he suffered from has also not been mentioned in local media.

A statement released by Turkish police to local media read: “Today at around 11:45 a.m., Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha, which was conducting natural gas exploration in 36 parcels in the Mediterranean, asked to leave Turkey after Christopher Ross Mcculloch, a British national who works on the seismographic research vessel, suddenly became ill. He was taken from the ship to Ercan Airport by helicopter.”

Police say that an investigation into his death is ongoing at this time.

No further information has been released by the police or local media at the time of going to press.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.