A passenger ferry carrying 267 people capsized off the northern coast of Cyprus on Sunday, leaving several people dead and prompting a search to rescue the remaining passengers.
At least seven people died and 237 were rescued, said Unal Ustel, the prime minister of the part of northern Cyprus that has declared itself an independent Turkish republic. Some 23 others were unaccounted for, he added. “Our top priority right now is to reach the 23 missing individuals as soon as possible,” he said.
The ferry had departed the Cypriot port of Kyrenia (known as Girne in Turkish) for Tasucu, in southern Turkey. Turkey’s Interior Ministry said it was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members when it began taking on water about four miles from Kyrenia.
Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz of Turkey described the vessel as a “catamaran-type” boat. “I extend my condolences to the passengers on board, the crew and our nation,” he said on social media.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that Turkish and northern Cypriot forces had started an expansive search-and-rescue effort involving helicopters and naval units.
“We are deeply saddened,” said Unal Ustel, the prime minister of northern Cyprus, according to his office’s Facebook page. “There has been loss of life, and there are injured people.”
No information was immediately available about the nationalities of those aboard the ship. Passengers on such routes are predominantly residents of northern Cyprus, many of whom carry Turkish or Cypriot passports, and Turks from mainland Turkey.
In an interview with Anadolu, Turkey’s state-run news agency, Mr. Ustel said the ferry’s departure had been delayed by a day because of bad weather. “It was hit by a first wave at sea, and while the captain was trying to recover, the vessel began taking on water after a second wave hit,” he told the outlet.
The captain and seven crew members were detained as part of an investigation into the capsized vessel, Mr. Ustel said in a later statement published by Anadolu, calling it “the biggest maritime disaster Cyprus has experienced.”
The Turkish military occupied territory in northern Cyprus in 1974 amid violence between the ethnic Greek and Turkish populations on the Mediterranean island. In 1983, northern Cyprus declared itself an independent Turkish republic, a move that is not recognized by any country except Turkey.
