Search Underway for 18 Missing After Ferry Capsizes off Northern Cyprus

Search operations for 18 missing people continued on Monday, a day after a ferry capsized off the coast of Northern Cyprus, killing eight people. According to the state news agency of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) — a self-declared territory — the captain and eight others were brought before a court and formally remanded in custody on Monday morning, as three days of national mourning began.

The incident occurred around midday Sunday (09:00 GMT), shortly after the ferry departed the port of Girne (also known as Kyrenia) in the north, bound for the port of Tasucu in Turkey's Mersin province. It was one of several daily ferry connections between the region and Turkey.

Local authorities said a major rescue operation was launched for the 267 passengers and crew aboard. Of those, 241 were rescued, eight were killed and 18 were listed as missing. The nationalities of the victims have not been disclosed.

It remains unclear whether anyone is still trapped inside the vessel, which lies on the seabed at a depth of more than 500 meters (1,640 feet).

Passengers reported that the ferry began taking on water before capsizing. Some survivors said they heard an explosion at the bow of the ship, while others suggested there were not enough safety devices. Video from the scene, broadcast by Turkish television, showed the ferry capsized, with passengers in life jackets sitting on its orange hull.

"Some people had to jump without lifebuoys or life jackets," a young man named Efe Multici told CNN Turk. "It was truly a fight for survival."

Serkan Kunduraci, who escaped the sinking ferry by pulling himself through a broken window, said he saw children and others drowning in the sea, about 7.5 kilometers (4 nautical miles) off the coast of Cyprus.

"I saw people who could not swim die in the sea," he told the DHA news agency. "We witnessed the children of one family, both boys and girls, very young children, drown."

Muhammed Ozcelik, a rescue worker who runs an underwater sports company, said his boat was among the first to arrive at the scene and began pulling survivors from the water. "We tried to do more than we were capable of. People were saying, 'Take me again, take me again,' but the boat was full," the AP news agency quoted him as saying.

Authorities said retrieving the ship's data recorder would help clarify the cause of the incident. Divers from Turkey are also assisting the search operation.

The island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974, and Turkish Cypriots declared independence from Greek Cypriot control in 1983. Only Turkey recognizes the north, where more than 35,000 troops are stationed.