Northern Cyprus ferry disaster: Panic as 18 remain missing after capsize

A ferry travelling from Kyrenia to Tasucu capsized off northern Cyprus, leaving eight dead and 18 missing. Survivors' accounts of blocked exits and delayed evacuation have intensified scrutiny of possible negligence.

In Short

• The vessel carried 267 people from Kyrenia to Tasucu on Sunday
• Survivors heard loud noises before water entered, but reassurances delayed evacuation
• Passengers described blocked exits, missing life jackets and children drowning nearby

Survivors of a ferry disaster off northern Cyprus that killed eight people described scenes of panic and fear on Monday as rescue teams searched for 18 people still missing. The ship, carrying 267 passengers and crew, capsized on Sunday afternoon after leaving Kyrenia in breakaway northern Cyprus for Tasucu in Turkiye.

Passengers said the ferry began listing and taking in water after loud noises were heard from below decks. As survivors recounted children and other passengers drowning in the sea about 7.5 kilometres off the Cypriot coast, authorities in northern Cyprus said an investigation had been launched and the vessel's eight crew members had been taken into custody.

Serkan Kunduraci, who escaped through a broken window, said he saw people dying in the water. "I saw some who didn't know how to swim die in the sea," he told DHA news agency. "There were those who, in a panic, didn't grab life jackets. Some jumped (into the sea) immediately out of fear. There was an old man, we couldn't get him. We tried to pull him up, but we couldn't. He drowned too.

"We saw and witnessed a family's children, boys and girls, very young children, drowning." Kunduraci said crew members checked the situation after the noises were heard and told passengers that there was no major problem, only a loose gasket causing a leak. But by the time the order to evacuate came, he said, panic had already spread. He added that the vessel began tilting as the captain apparently tried to return to Kyrenia, known in Turkish as Girne.

"There was so much screaming and so many people were trapped behind - they had been left in the rear," Kunduraci said. "They couldn't get out. There were bodies and people piled on top of them. Those trapped underneath were the unlucky ones, they stayed down there."

Another survivor, Deniz Ozpolat, also described chaos on board the ferry, which was owned by Filo Denizcilik. "We headed toward the exit. A crush of people had already formed. We couldn't find the life jackets. They shut the doors on us and we couldn't get out," he told DHA. "They opened them later. We jumped into the water. The ship began to sink after listing to the side. We broke the windows and rescued people. There was a family out in the open water, there were children."

Muhammed Ozcelik, who runs a water sports company and was among the first rescuers to reach the scene, said his boat began pulling people out of the sea. "We tried to do more than we could. People were saying, 'Take me too, take me too,' but the capacity was full. We even took far more than (our capacity) ... People were fighting for their lives." Images carried by Turkish media showed passengers in orange life vests standing on the overturned ferry waiting to be rescued. Many were later seen getting off small pleasure boats at a port.

Unal Ustel, the prime minister of northern Cyprus, said late on Sunday that "every aspect of this incident will be investigated" and that "even the slightest negligence will be uncovered". "Whoever is found to be at fault or responsible will not be spared," he said. He added that the Turkish coast guard and military were helping rescue teams from northern Cyprus, and described the sinking as the worst maritime disaster in Cypriot history. Cyprus has remained divided along ethnic lines since 1974, and Turkish Cypriots declared independence in 1983. Only Turkiye recognises the north.

The disaster has left at least eight people dead, 18 missing and many others traumatised, with survivors describing desperate attempts to escape a ferry that began taking on water before capsizing on its journey from Kyrenia to Tasucu.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends