8 dead, 18 still missing after passenger ferry capsizes off Cyprus

Nicosia: The death toll rose to eight as rescuers continued searching for 18 people missing after a Turkish ferry capsised and sank off the northern coast of Cyprus, Turkish Cypriot authorities said.

The double-hulled ferry, carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members, began taking on water and capsized shortly after leaving the port of Kyrenia on Sunday afternoon. As of Monday, a total of 241 people has been rescued, authorities said.

The ferry later sank to a depth of over 500 meters below the sea surface. It is unclear if anyone was trapped in the vessel, but footage posted on social media suggested that when the ferry went down, there were still people in one of its compartments, Xinhua news agency reported.

Turkey said it was dispatching a deep-sea remotely operated vehicle to assist the search operation. The equipment is expected to arrive at the accident site on Tuesday.

Turkish Cypriot authorities have arrested the captain and seven crew members. Local media reported that the ferry had previously undergone repairs for water leaks.

Some survivors said the captain and the crew were the first to get out of the boat, leaving passengers without evacuation instructions, according to media reports.

Cyprus was hit by severe storms on Saturday, and sea conditions remained rough on Sunday. However, Turkish Cypriot authorities said weather conditions were considered suitable for the ferry to sail to the Turkish port of Tasucu, about 120 km north of Kyrenia.

The cause of the capsizing remains under investigation, authorities said.

Earlier this year, similar incident took place in Sudan. At least 15 people died after a passenger ferry sank in the River Nile State in northern Sudan, a source at Sudan’s civil defence authority said.

The source said the boat capsized due to high waves, noting that civil defence units rushed to the scene and recovered more than 15 bodies, and that eight people survived while about four others were missing.

IANS