A huge maritime tragedy occurred off the coast of North Cyprus on Sunday after a passenger ferry carrying nearly 270 people capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, leaving at least seven people dead and 23 others missing. Emergency rescue teams from Turkey and Northern Cyprus are running a search-and-rescue operation to find those who went missing, Turkish media reported.
The ferry FILOJET, a privately operated catamaran-style passenger vessel, was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members, with 267 people on board, he added. It departed from the port city of Kyrenia (Girne) in Northern Cyprus and was heading to Taşucu, a coastal city in Turkey’s province of Mersin. Shortly after leaving port, the ferry began to take on water about four nautical miles from the coastline before finally overturning, he said.
Northern Cyprus Prime Minister Ünal Üstel confirmed that 237 people had been rescued alive, and seven were dead. Rescuers are still searching for the 23 passengers still missing. The search has been described as one of the largest maritime rescue efforts in the region’s history.
Social media and television networks showed survivors donning life jackets and clinging to the overturned vessel or floating in the sea as rescue boats rushed to the scene. Coast guard boats, civilian boats, helicopters, as well as emergency medical teams were deployed immediately after the distress calls were received. Survivors were later ferried to Kyrenia port, with ambulances and medical personnel waiting to attend to them.
The exact cause of the accident is under investigation. Initial reports say the ferry started taking on water within minutes of departure. Weather conditions, mechanical failure, or structural problems might have caused the disaster, the government said. Northern Cyprus had been hit by severe storms a day ago, but officials said weather conditions were suitable for travel on Sunday.
Tufan Erhürman, the Turkish Cypriot leader, expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy and said that every available resource had been mobilised to locate the missing. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also expressed his grief and told the families and the people he was speaking to that Turkey would continue to conduct rescue operations until all missing passengers were accounted for.
Search efforts are hampered by the depth of the water where the ferry sank. It was said that the ship eventually sank hundreds of meters below the surface, making underwater operations very challenging, officials said. Specialised equipment and additional rescue resources have been requested to aid in this search.
Investigators have also started questioning crew members as part of the investigation into the incident. The ferry’s maintenance history, safety procedures, and the sequence of events that led to the capsize are expected to be investigated, the report said.
The disaster sent shockwaves across Cyprus and Turkey, and families are anxiously awaiting news of loved ones. But as rescue efforts continue day and night, there remains hope that more people are not dead. Obviously, the situation is still grave, and the death toll is going to go up during recovery efforts, the government said.
