A passenger ferry carrying 267 people capsized off the northern coast of Cyprus on Sunday, killing at least seven people and leaving 23 others missing as authorities launched a major search-and-rescue operation.
According to a report by The New York Times on Sujnday, the Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Unal Ustel, said 237 people had been rescued from the vessel, while efforts were continuing to locate those still unaccounted for.
“Our top priority right now is to reach the 23 missing individuals as soon as possible,” Ustel said.
The ferry had departed from the northern Cypriot port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne in Turkish, en route to Tasucu in southern Turkey.
Turkey’s Interior Ministry said the vessel was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members when it began taking on water about four miles off the coast of Kyrenia.
Turkey’s Vice President, Cevdet Yilmaz, described the vessel as a catamaran-type ferry and expressed condolences to those affected by the incident.
“I extend my condolences to the passengers on board, the crew and our nation,” Yilmaz said in a social media post.
The Turkish Interior Ministry said Turkish and northern Cypriot authorities had mobilised helicopters and naval units as part of an extensive search-and-rescue operation.
“We are deeply saddened,” Ustel said, according to a statement from his office. “There has been loss of life, and there are injured people.”
The nationalities of those aboard the ferry were not immediately disclosed.
However, passengers using the route are predominantly residents of northern Cyprus, including people carrying Turkish or Cypriot passports, as well as Turkish nationals travelling from mainland Turkey.
Ustel told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency that the ferry’s departure had been delayed by a day because of bad weather.
According to him, the vessel encountered a first wave while at sea, and the situation worsened when a second wave struck as the captain attempted to regain control.
“It was hit by a first wave at sea, and while the captain was trying to recover, the vessel began taking on water after a second wave hit,” Ustel said.
The captain and seven crew members were later detained as part of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident.
Ustel described the incident as “the biggest maritime disaster Cyprus has experienced.”
The disaster occurred against the backdrop of the longstanding political division of Cyprus.
Turkey occupied territory in northern Cyprus in 1974 following violence between the island’s Greek and Turkish communities.
Northern Cyprus subsequently declared independence in 1983 as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a declaration recognised only by Turkey.
The region remains internationally unrecognised, while the island continues to be divided between the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus in the south and the Turkish Cypriot administration in the north.
