At least 8 dead after ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers, crew capsizes off northern Cyprus

Some 237 people have been rescued, Northern Cyprus Prime Minister Unal Ustel told Turkish state-run TRT news channel. He said a search was underway for the remaining missing.

Ustel said the ferry faced adverse weather conditions and began taking on water just 15 minutes after departure. A call for help was issued shortly after, he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his condolences and said his government was co-ordinating with Northern Cyprus in the search-and-rescue effort.

“We hope we’ll be receiving positive news,” Erdogan said on Sunday in Ankara while speaking at the graduation ceremony of the Turkish Military Academy.

The catamaran-style ferry was travelling from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, in the breakaway north of ethnically divided Cyprus, to the Turkish port of Tasucu in Mersin province.

Kyrenia Mayor Murat Senkul said the ship belonged to the Filo Denizcilik ferry company and sank off the coast of Diana Beach on Cyprus’s northern coast.

The ferry started taking on water about 7.5 kilometres off the coast, TRT reported. Video footage from the scene shows people with life-vests floating in the water around the capsized vessel.

Constantinos Letymbiotis, spokesperson for Cyprus’s internationally recognized government, said in a post on social media platform X on Sunday that the government had expressed its readiness to assist in search-and-rescue efforts with all available means.

“In these trying times, our thoughts are with those who lost their lives, those who were injured and all those who are living this tragedy,” Letymbiotis said.

“At such times, the protection of human life is paramount.” — The Associated Press