ISTANBUL, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish coast guard on Wednesday rescued 14 crew members of a freighter which ran aground off Istanbul in the Black Sea.

The cargo ship carrying the flag of Comoros went aground with 16 crew members aboard near the district of Sile, the Istanbul governor's office said in a written statement.

The coast guard was trying to rescue the pair who remained trapped on the ship, said the statement.

The vessel named Natalia started to float toward the shore for an unknown reason before it grounded, the private NTV broadcaster said, noting it had difficulty in dropping anchor in time and ran aground because of worsening weather conditions.