Fourteen crew members have died after two commercial vessels caught fire while anchored near the Kerch Strait, close to the Crimea-Russia border, according to the Russian Transport Ministry.

Five more sailors are misssing.

The ships had crews of 31 people in total, made up of 16 Turkish citizens and 15 Indian ones.

Russian media reported that one of the vessels was hit by an "explosion" and people on board jumped into the water to escape the blaze.

The Federal Agency for the Sea and River Transport said the fire erupted while fuel was being pumped from one tanker to another.

In pictures: Crimea under Russian control Show all 5 1 /5 In pictures: Crimea under Russian control In pictures: Crimea under Russian control crimea7.jpg Crimea's rebel leader urged Russians across Ukraine on Sunday to rise up against Kiev's rule and welcome Kremlin forces whose unrelenting march against his flashpoint peninsula has defied Western outrage GETTY IMAGES In pictures: Crimea under Russian control crimea3.jpg Russian soldiers storm a Ukrainian military air base in the small city of Belbek GETTY IMAGES In pictures: Crimea under Russian control crimea4.jpg A commander of the Ukrainian military airbase speaks to officers before pro-Russia militia and Russian armed forces backed by armoured vehicles broke inside the Ukrainian airbase in the small city of Belbe GETTY IMAGES In pictures: Crimea under Russian control crimea5.jpg People hold placard portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin as Adolf Hitler and reading 'Adolf Putin - Stop the Russian aggressor - Hands off Ukraine' during a rally on Independence Square in Kiev Getty In pictures: Crimea under Russian control crimea2.jpg Pro-Russian activists carry an unidentified man as Russian soldiers storm a Ukrainian military air base in the small city of Belbek near the Crimean city of Sevastopol on March 22 GETTY IMAGES

The blaze then spread from one ship to the other, according to Russian news agencies.

Rescuers pulled 12 people alive from the water and recovered 11 bodies.

A further three bodies were spotted but were not recovered.

The rescue mission is ongoing.

Both ships, the Maestro and the Candy, sail under the Tanzanian flag.

In November, Russia detained three Ukrainian navy vessels and their crews in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait, fuelling tensions between the two countries.

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Relations between the nations have remained volatile since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.