At least eight people drowned and 17 were missing after a ferry carrying almost 270 passengers and crew capsized off northern Cyprus on Sunday, leaving survivors clinging to its overturned hull. As a major rescue operation got underway, Turkish Cypriot authorities said the captain and seven crew had been detained for questioning. The FILOJET vessel began taking on water about four nautical miles off Kyrenia while sailing from Kyrenia to Tasucu in mainland Turkey.
Video footage showed people in red life jackets sittingor standing on top of the overturned vessel as authorities scrambled coastguard and private vessels for assistance to bring them to shore. It was constantly lifting out of the water and slamming back down. It was shaking violently,” survivor Efe Multici told channel CNN Turk.
Three or four minutes later, the ferry leapt high into the air, then came crashing down. The front left side burst open and water started pouring in. By late afternoon, the ship had sank, settling on the seabed at a depth of 514 metres.
The ferry was one of several daily shuttle services that link north Cyprus, a breakaway unrecognised Turkish Cypriot state, with mainland Turkey. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman told CNN Turk he was "deeply saddened" by the incident. "If there are people `still inside the vessel, reaching them does not appear easy at the moment," Erhurman said.
"Efforts are being made using other technologies to reach them as well." Cyprus was battered by fierce storms on Saturday, with one person dying after his sailboat crashed onto rocks in rough seas in the island's south-east. Asked about the cause of the capsize, Erhurman noted the storm on Saturday, but said the weather on Sunday was considered suitable for travel. "There is a great sense of shock here.
This is not something we have experienced before," he said, speaking from the crisis centre set up in the area. In Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan extended his condolences to the families affected. Expressions of condolence and offers of assistance also came from Cyprus's internationally recognised government.
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