A deadly ferry disaster off northern Cyprus has moved from frantic rescue operations to a courtroom, as the vessel’s captain faced a judge while teams continued searching for dozens still unaccounted for.
The overcrowded ferry, carrying 267 people, overturned yesterday roughly four nautical miles off the coast shortly after departing the port of Kyrenia on the northern side of the divided island.
Rescue crews in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) — an entity recognised only by Ankara — brought 239 people to safety. At least eight others were confirmed dead, and “the search continues for 20 people,” prime minister Unal Ustal said.
Officials did not immediately release the nationalities of those killed or those still missing.
Police took the captain and 15 other people into custody.
According to the official TAK news agency, nine detainees appeared in court in Kyrenia, known as Girne in Turkish, and were charged with negligent homicide as Northern Cyprus entered three days of mourning.
In statements to the court, the captain and crew said powerful waves had smashed open the front of the vessel, Turkey’s Anadolu state news agency reported.
Watch: Rescue efforts continue to locate the missing off northern Cyprus
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TRNC president Tufan Erhurman said divers were attempting to recover information from the ferry’s so-called “black box” to determine what triggered the fatal incident.
“Divers were deployed today… and this effort will continue tomorrow as well,” he told reporters, pledging “to get to the bottom of every aspect”.
He added that the ferry operator “will certainly be held accountable”.
“Definitive information will likely be provided tomorrow in the form of confirmed data,” he said.
Khassim Diagne, the UN Secretary-General’s representative in Cyprus, said he was “deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life” and offered his condolences to the families impacted.
‘Fight for survival’
Survivors — speaking about what was reportedly a French-made Filo-Jet catamaran — described hearing a sound like an explosion shortly before the ferry rolled over.
Passengers said the boat began taking on water, and that the captain attempted to turn back toward port before it capsized.
Video from the scene aired on Turkish television showed the upturned ferry with passengers in life jackets perched on its orange hull.
Not long after, the ferry slipped beneath the surface and now lies at a depth of 514 metres, according to TRNC transport minister Erhan Arikli.
Some who escaped said safety equipment was insufficient for the number on board.
“Some people had to jump without lifebuoys or life jackets,” a young survivor, Efe Multici, told CNN Turk.
“It was literally a fight for survival.”
Turkey dispatched assistance yesterday, including six naval vessels and two drones, as private boats in the area also joined the search and rescue operation.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of the island following an Athens-backed Greek Cypriot coup that sought unification with Greece.
Today, the island consists of the TRNC — which declared independence in 1983 but is recognised only by Ankara — and the EU member Republic of Cyprus in the south.
The TRNC is connected to Turkey by regular air and sea routes.
