Rescuers continue search for missing after deadly north Cyprus ferry accident
Several survivors told local media they heard a blast shortly before the vessel rolled, with police detaining the captain and more than a dozen others.
Rescuers were still searching for survivors on Monday a day after a ferry capsized off northern Cyprus, leaving eight people dead and more than a dozen missing, authorities said.
The ferry left the northern port of Kyrenia around midday on Sunday en route for the Turkish mainland but capsized shortly afterwards, sparking a major rescue operation, local authorities said.
There were 267 on board at the time.
Of that number, 241 people were rescued, eight died and another 18 were listed as missing, they said. There was no immediate word on their nationalities.
Several survivors told local media they heard a blast shortly before the vessel rolled, with police detaining the captain and more than a dozen others.
Early on Monday, the captain and eight others were brought before a judge where they were placed under formal arrest as northern Cyprus began three days of national mourning, the north's news agency TAK said.
Passengers said the boat had begun taking on water before it capsized about four nautical miles (7 kilometres) into the journey.
Footage from the scene broadcast by Turkish television showed the capsized ferry with passengers wearing life jackets sitting atop its orange hull.
Shortly afterwards, the ferry totally sank and is currently lying at a depth of 514 metres, the north’s transport minister Erhan Arikli said.
Recovering the vessel's "black box" would help understand what caused the tragedy, he added.
Some survivors said they heard an explosion at the front of the boat, with others saying there wasn't enough safety equipment.
"Some people had to jump without lifebuoys or life jackets," one young man, Efe Multici, told CNN Türk. "It was literally a fight for survival."
Cyprus has been split since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of the island in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup seeking unification with Greece.
Today the island comprises the self-styled Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which declared independence in 1983 but is only recognised by Ankara, and the EU member Republic of Cyprus in the south.
The TRNC is served by regular air and sea links to Turkey.
Passengers Killed and Missing After Turkish Ferry Capsizes off Cyprus
A large search and rescue operation was underway off the north coast of Cyprus after a Turkish ferry began taking on water shortly after it departed and rapidly capsized miles from shore. The last reports said 237 people were rescued, while seven or eight bodies have been recovered, and between 17 and 22 people are still reported as missing.
The ferry Filojet departed the port of Girne at noon on Sunday for a trip that lasts approximately two hours to the mainland of Turkey. The vessel was a high-speed catamaran ferry, with reports that there were 259 passengers aboard and eight crewmembers. The Filojet was 40.5 meters (133 feet) in length.
Filojet was a high-speed catamaran making two-hour runs between Cyprus and Turkey (Filo Denizcilik)
The vessel had begun taking on water shortly after departing, and the captain issued an emergency call. It rolled onto its side while it was approximately four nautical miles off the coast. A government minister has said in an unconfirmed report that the vessel later sank in an area of approximately 514 meters (1,686 feet) in depth.
The government of the Turkish community on Cyprus said that rescue crews were able to reach the vessel approximately 15 to 20 minutes after the distress call. Four vessels from the Coast Guard, along with the passenger ship Akgunler 3, were rescuing people from the water and were being joined by five marine vessels and two Coast Guard helicopters from Turkey. Six navy vessels were also joining the search.
Some passengers had been able to don lifejackets and jump into the water. Video of the rescue operation appears to show people standing on the mostly submerged vessel. Survivors were being brought to hospitals on Cyprus.
A government official said the service had been suspended on Saturday due to adverse weather conditions. They said the sea conditions were still quite rough but that it was acceptable for the trip. Girne is a popular tourist destination on Cyprus for the Turkish community.
There is speculation that the ferry might have struck an object in the water, and the minister said they would be looking at this as one possibility. The Turkish authorities were also dispatching a vessel with divers to the site, and the plan is to recover the vessel’s "Black Box" as quickly as possible.
The captain and seven crewmembers from the ferry have been taken into custody as part of the investigation.
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