At least eight people died and 18 were missing after a ferry carrying around 270 passengers and crew capsized off North Cyprus on Sunday. Dramatic images showed terrified survivors clinging to the ferry’s overturned hull. The privately owned ferry left the port of Kyrenia, a popular holiday and tourist destination, at 12:30 p.m. local time - about 9.30am GMT - and immediately started taking on water for an unknown reason, authorities said.
It was heading for the Turkish port of Tasucu in the eastern Mediterranean. The boat was carrying 267 people, including a crew of eight, while 241 people were rescued. The ferry was one of several shuttle sea services that link North Cyprus, a breakaway unrecognised Turkish Cypriot state, with Turkey daily.
Survivors reported the ferry moving erratically, with its last hard impact with the water's surface breaking the bow of the two-hulled vessel, allowing water to seep in. The ship's captain and seven crew members have been detained as part of an investigation, Ünal Üstel, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Turkish republic on Cyprus, wrote on social media. The incident has sent shockwaves through the territory.
Hours after the incident relatives remained outside a local hospital and the port gates in Kyrenia, waiting for news of their loved ones. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said he was "deeply saddened" by the incident. Video footage showed people in red life jackets sitting or standing on top of the overturned vessel as authorities scrambled coastguard and private vessels for assistance to bring them to shore.
It was constantly lifting out of the water and slamming back down. It was shaking violently,” survivor Efe Multici told CNN Turk. The front left side burst open and water started pouring in.” Turkish Cypriot authorities said the captain of the vessel and seven crew had been detained for questioning.
By late afternoon, the ship had sunk, settling on the seabed at a depth of 514 metres (1,686 ft). Divers from Turkey would be assisting the search, they said." Search and rescue efforts will continue until the very end, until all people are reached," Erhurman told journalists after a crisis management meeting. Cyprus was battered by fierce storms on Saturday, with one person dying after his sailboat crashed onto rocks in rough seas in the island's south-east.Asked about the cause of the capsize, Erhurman noted the storm on Saturday, but said the weather on Sunday was considered suitable for travel.
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