Cruise ship capsized off Kyrenia, 20 people still missing

Search and rescue efforts are continuing for the missing 20 people after the cruise ship with 267 people, 259 passengers and 8 crew, capsized off the coast of Kyrenia at noon on Sunday. It was reported that all 8 people who lost their lives in the ship disaster were Turkish citizens.

TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel stated that the search and rescue efforts carried out after the cruise ship capsized off the coast of Kyrenia continued on a 24/7 basis and said, "Our biggest priority is to reach our missing people. Our work will continue with the same determination throughout the night as it does during the day."

Ünal Üstel, after following the work at Kyrenia Port on site during the day yesterday, went back to the port after the funeral ceremony and met with the relatives of the missing. Üstel gave information to the families about the search and rescue activities and stated that the work continues uninterruptedly with the support of Turkey and the participation of all relevant units.

Üstel emphasized that 8 ships, 9 boats, 1 aircraft, 7 helicopters and 5 UAVs will take part in the search-rescue and image transfer activities to be carried out at night. Prime Minister Üstel stated that in order to increase the search capacity, a special search ship from Turkey, which has deep sea search capability and can work up to a depth of 1000 meters, is expected to arrive in the region tomorrow.

CIVIL MARINE VOYAGES WILL START AGAIN

Üstel stated that the necessary arrangements have been completed in order to avoid disruption of normal civilian sea transportation and that civilian sea voyages will restart from tomorrow.

Stating that the necessary regulation change was made to protect the rights of citizens who were unable to travel despite purchasing tickets due to the incident, Üstel said, "We will not stop at night. We will continue to be on the field with all our means to reach our missing people."