Eight Dead, 18 Missing After Ferry Capsizes Off Cyprus

The Sinking

A passenger ferry carrying nearly 270 people capsized off the northern coast of Cyprus, killing at least eight people and leaving 18 missing.

The vessel, named the Filo Jet, left the coastal holiday town of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, at about 12:30 local time (09:30 GMT) on Sunday, bound for Tasucu in southern Turkey. CNN reports, citing the Turkish Interior Ministry, that it began taking on water just a few miles off the Cypriot coast.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said 241 people had been rescued alive. The ship later sank and is now lying at a depth of 514 metres (1,686 feet), he said.

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Rescue and Investigation

Helicopters, coastguard boats and ambulances were sent to the scene, with ambulances stationed on the beach to receive rescued passengers. Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu reported that Turkey deployed three aircraft, four unmanned aerial vehicles, six helicopters, four Coast Guard boats, a fast attack craft, a frigate and a patrol vessel.

Unal Ustel, prime minister of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), a breakaway state recognised only by Turkey, said the captain and seven crew members have been detained as part of an investigation into how the disaster happened. He called it the biggest maritime disaster Cyprus has ever experienced.

Ustel said even the slightest negligence would be uncovered and that no one would be spared, regardless of who they are. Authorities are trying to recover the vessel's black box recorder.

Accounts of What Happened

Ustel told Turkish broadcaster TRT that the boat was hit by two waves before it capsized. While the captain was trying to recover from the first wave, a second struck and the vessel began taking on water, he said. He added that the crossing had been scheduled for Saturday but was delayed by poor weather.

Survivor Efe Multici told CNN Turk that passengers noticed water seeping in and alerted the crew, but that their concerns were not initially taken seriously. "I was downstairs, and water started seeping in. We told the crew. It was really windy," he said. He described difficulty finding life jackets as the situation worsened.

Mustafa Koc, who says he saved around 65 people with his own boat, told the BBC the crew should have waited for calmer seas. "It wasn't safe for them," he said.

Erhurman said any comment on the cause would be speculation at this stage. The Turkish Cypriot Council of Ministers declared three days of national mourning, according to Anadolu. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent condolences and said search efforts continue uninterrupted.