Horror in Cyprus—Several Feared Dead As Vessel With Over 260 Sinks Off Northern Coast

A major rescue operation got underway off Northern Cyprus on Sunday after a catamaran-style passenger ferry carrying 267 people capsized shortly after leaving Kyrenia for the Turkish port of Tasucu.

At least six people were reported dead as rescuers searched the waters around the overturned vessel.

Unal Ustel, Prime Minister of the Turkish Cypriot administration in northern Cyprus, was at the scene as Coast Guard and Civil Defence teams carried out the rescue operation.

“There has been loss of life and there are injuries. We are on the ground with all our resources,” Ustel said, adding, “We are deeply saddened.”

The privately operated ferry was reportedly carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members when it capsized around four nautical miles, or 7.5 kilometres, off the coast.

The vessel had left Kyrenia, also known as Girne, at around 12:30 local time for Tasucu in Turkey’s Mersin province when it began taking on water.

The captain issued a distress call, triggering a major search-and-rescue operation involving Coast Guard vessels, helicopters, Civil Defence teams, and civilian boats.

More than 170 people had been rescued by Sunday afternoon, with some survivors taken to hospital.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.