At least eight dead and 18 missing after ferry sinks off northern Cyprus
Rescuers searched the Mediterranean off northern Cyprus on Monday after a passenger ferry carrying 267 people capsized and sank en route to Turkey, leaving at least eight people dead and 18 others missing, authorities said.
The vessel overturned roughly four nautical miles off the coast of Girne (Kyrenia) after departing for the Turkish mainland. Police have detained 14 individuals, including the captain, several crew members, and shipping line executives, in connection with the disaster.
Harrowing escapes at sea
The voyage had originally been scheduled to depart a day earlier but was delayed due to severe weather. Passengers reported hearing loud thuds from beneath the deck before the vessel was struck by two powerful swells.
“The third impact caused water to gush in, so we called the crew. They checked and told us there was no problem, only that a seal had loosened and caused a leak,” one male survivor said.
The captain subsequently ordered passengers to move to an upper saloon. Panic quickly spread, leaving travelers with little time to evacuate as the vessel attempted an emergency turn back toward port before rolling onto its side.
“I saw people dying in the water who could not swim, because in their panic they failed to grab life jackets and jumped into the sea out of fear,” another survivor recounted.
Desperate struggle among the waves
Survivors described chaotic scenes as luggage shifted violently across the listing deck, trapping passengers and separating families in the dark.
“She was screaming, ‘Do not let go of me.’ I did not let go of my daughter, I swear I never let go of her,” a grieving mother told reporters. “A suitcase fell over me, and when the suitcase struck me, her hand slipped from my grip.”
The mother said she tried frantically to reach her child among the debris and rising water.
“I saw her leg in striped trousers and caught her foot, but her shoe was coated in oil and slipped between two suitcases,” she said. “My daughter is still out in the sea, and I only escaped by climbing over twenty people as everyone fought for their lives.”
Another passenger said the vessel foundered too fast for parents to protect their loved ones.
“It happened suddenly and the ship sank abruptly without giving us a chance to intervene,” the man said. “We lost our children, though we did everything we could to save them.”
Military search operations expand
Military aircraft, search drones, helicopters, and naval vessels deployed by the Turkish Armed Forces continued scouring the waters around the wreckage site. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed that search and rescue efforts will proceed without interruption until all missing individuals are accounted for.
Authorities have opened a formal criminal inquiry to establish the precise technical and operational failures that caused the sinking. Under local law, all detained suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
