A passenger ferry carrying 267 people capsized off the northern coast of Cyprus on Sunday, killing at least 8 people and triggering a large-scale search and rescue operation. Most of those aboard were rescued, while 18 remained missing late Sunday, according to Tufan Erhurman, president of the Turkish Cypriot administration in northern Cyprus, as reported by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency.
Erhurman said 4 of the deceased had been identified and that local and Turkish search and rescue teams were continuing operations at sea.
The vessel’s captain and 7 crew members were detained as part of an investigation into the accident, according to northern Cyprus Prime Minister Unal Ustel. He said the circumstances surrounding the incident would be investigated in detail and that any negligence identified during the inquiry would be established.
The ferry had been sailing from Kyrenia, also known as Girne in Turkish, to Tasucu in southern Turkey. Turkey’s Interior Ministry said the vessel was carrying 259 passengers and 8 crew members when it began taking on water ~4 miles from Kyrenia. Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz described it as a catamaran-type vessel.
The search operation involved Turkish and northern Cypriot authorities, with helicopters and naval units deployed to locate those still missing. Rescued passengers were subsequently brought ashore in Kyrenia.
The nationalities of those aboard had not been released. Ferries operating between northern Cyprus and southern Turkey are used primarily by residents of northern Cyprus, including people holding Turkish or Cypriot passports, as well as passengers from mainland Turkey.
According to Ustel, the ferry’s departure had been postponed by one day because of adverse weather conditions. He said the vessel encountered a first wave offshore and began taking on water after a second wave struck while the captain was attempting to regain control.
Northern Cyprus has been administered by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus since 1983, following Turkey’s military intervention on the island in 1974 amid conflict between its Greek and Turkish communities. The entity is recognized internationally only by Turkey.