Ferry capsizes off Northern Cyprus, eight dead, 18 missing

The search is continuing for 18 missing people the day after eight people died when a ferry capsized off the coast of Northern Cyprus.

Early on Monday, the captain and eight others were brought before a judge and placed under formal arrest as three days of national mourning began, according to the official state news agency of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

The ferry ran into trouble about midday (09:00 GMT) on Sunday, shortly after leaving the northern port of Girne – also known as Kyrenia – heading for the Turkish port of Tasucu in Mersin province. It was one of several daily sea shuttle links with Turkiye.

A major rescue operation began for the 267 passengers and crew on board, according to local authorities. They said 241 were rescued, eight died and 18 were listed as missing. Their nationalities have not been published.

It was not clear if people remained trapped on the vessel, which is lying on the seabed at a depth of more than 500 metres (1,640 ft).

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, others said there was not enough safety equipment. Video from the scene broadcast by Turkish television showed the capsized ferry with passengers wearing life jackets sitting on top of its orange hull.

“Some people had to jump without lifebuoys or life jackets,” one young man, Efe Multici, told CNN Turk. “It was literally a fight for survival.”

Serkan Kunduraci, who escaped the sinking ferry by hauling himself through a broken window, said he saw children and others drowning in the sea 7.5km (4 nautical miles) off the Cypriot coast.

“I saw some who didn’t know how to swim die in the sea,” he told the DHA news agency.

“We saw and witnessed a family’s children, boys and girls, very young children, drowning.”

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.

“We tried to do more than we could. People were saying, ‘Take me too, take me too,’ but the capacity was full,” the Associated Press agency reported.

Recovering the vessel’s “black box” data recorder would help understand what caused the incident, authorities said.

Divers from Turkiye were assisting the search, officials said.

Cyprus was split in 1974 and Turkish Cypriots declared independence from Greek control in 1983. Only Turkiye recognises the north, where more than 35,000 troops are stationed.