Passenger ship Diana sinks off the northern coast of Cyprus, with eight dead and 22 missing

A passenger ship with about 270 people on board, including passengers and crew, capsized this Sunday off the coast of northern Cyprus. Eight people have died and 22 passengers still remain to be located.

Faced with this situation, the Turkish Cypriot coast guard has deployed an urgent rescue operation, reported local authorities, who describe the situation as “serious.” At least seven people have died, according to Turkish media, the country to which the boat was headed.

While some media claim that the ship capsized, the Transport Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Erhan Arikli, told the press that the ship was about to sink off the coast of the New Port of Girne (Kirina in Greek). Cyprus was hit on Saturday by an intense storm that caused other accidents, such as that of a sailboat that crashed into the rocks of a beach.

For his part, the mayor of the city of Girne described the situation as “serious” and stated that the ship capsized, possibly due to the storm. In this sense, passengers of the ship belonging to FiloJet that sank stated that they told the officer on board to “turn around,” but the officer “did not turn around.”

"The passenger and cargo ship Diana, belonging to Filo Maritime, sank off Diana beach. There are a total of 270 people on board, including passengers and crew," the mayor said on his social networks.

"A passenger ship belonging to the shipping company Filo Denizcilik has sunk off the coast of Diana Beach. A total of 270 people are traveling on board, including passengers and crew," the mayor said on his social networks.

"The situation is extremely serious. The Coast Guard, the Akgünler company's Express ship and numerous small boats are participating in the rescue efforts," he added.

According to the CyprusMail newspaper, the vessel was a ferry that left Girne bound for the Turkish port of Tasucu and capsized early this afternoon about four miles north of the Cypriot coast for reasons that are still unknown.

In addition to the Turkish Cypriot coast guard boats, a rescue helicopter was sent as reinforcement and several other vessels set sail from Girne to assist in the rescue efforts.