At least eight people died and 18 remain missing after a passenger ferry capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus on Sunday, triggering the arrest of the vessel’s captain and crew and a three-day national mourning period.
The ferry, a high-speed Filo Jet vessel 40 metres long and 10 metres wide, sails under the flag of Turkey, according to Marine Traffic. It was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew when it ran into trouble after departing the popular holiday resort of Kyrenia at about 12:30 local time. It was bound for the Turkish port of Tasucu in Mersin province, one of several daily sea shuttle links with Turkey. The privately owned ferry had been scheduled to travel on Saturday, but its journey was delayed due to poor weather conditions.
Local authorities said 241 people were rescued, eight died, and 18 were listed as missing. 19 people are being treated at hospitals in northern Cyprus. The nationalities of those on board have not been published. It was not clear if people remained trapped on the vessel, which has completely sunk and is lying on the seabed at a depth of 514 metres, officials say. A major rescue operation began for the 267 passengers and crew on board, according to local authorities. The search continues. Divers from Turkey were assisting the search, officials said.
Captain and crew arrested
On Monday, the captain and eight others were brought before a judge and placed under formal arrest, according to the official state news agency of the TRNC. Warrants have been issued for a further seven people. Prime Minister Ünal Üstel announced a three-day period of national mourning.
Üstel told local media that the boat was hit by two waves before it capsized. While the captain was trying to recover from the first wave, a second wave struck and the vessel began taking on water.
Debris remains scattered across the water. A black wheelie suitcase bobs on the surface. A sheet of steel appeared to have broken away from the ferry. Authorities are attempting to recover the vessel’s black box recorder to establish what happened.
Survivors describe chaos
Passengers said the boat had begun taking on water before it capsized. Some survivors said they heard an explosion at the front of the boat, while others said there was not enough safety equipment, and video broadcast by Turkish television showed passengers in life jackets on the capsized ferry’s orange hull.
Efe Multici told CNN Turk that some people had to jump without lifebuoys or life jackets, calling it a fight for survival.
Serkan Kunduraci, who escaped by hauling himself through a broken window, said he saw children and others drowning in the sea 7.5 kilometres off the Cypriot coast. He told the DHA news agency that he saw some who did not know how to swim die in the sea, and that he witnessed a family’s children, boys and girls, very young children, drowning.
Among the missing are the two children of Ayten Bicer, her 12-year-old daughter Miray and six-year-old son Mehmet Asaf. She told local media she felt Miray slip out of her hands as they tried to cling to the overturned boat. Bicer said her daughter was pleading with her not to let go, and she swore she did not let her go. A suitcase fell on top of her, forcing her daughter from her grip. She grabbed hold of her daughter’s foot, but the shoes were coated in engine oil from the overturned vessel and the child slipped through her hands.
She and her husband, Hayri, are by the port in Kyrenia with other families awaiting news of their loved ones. Rescuer Muhammed Ozcelik, who runs a water sports company, said his boat was one of the first on the scene and began hauling survivors from the sea. He told the Associated Press that they tried to do more than they could, and that people were asking to be taken aboard, but the capacity was full.
Filo Denizcilik, the company that operates the vessel, said it was deeply saddened by the tragic accident. The TRNC controls the northern third of the island of Cyprus, which has been divided since 1974. Turkish Cypriots declared independence from Greek control in 1983, and only Turkey recognises the north, where more than 35,000 troops are stationed.