Investigators probe cause of Northern Cyprus ferry sinking, crew detained
Search continues for 18 passengers missing after ferry capsized in Mediterranean Sea, off northern coast of Cyprus.
Police have detained the captain and seven crew members of a ferry that capsized off Northern Cyprus, killing at least eight of the 270 people on board and leaving 18 others missing.
The transport minister of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Erhan Arikli, told Turkish news agency Anadolu on Sunday that passengers had made several allegations involving the crew, including that the doors had been locked and that the captain fled the vessel.
Others said the vessel began taking on water shortly after leaving the port and that crew members had failed to heed their warnings.
Arikli said his ministry would launch an investigation separate from the police probe.
Al Jazeera correspondent Resul Serdar said that finding those missing at sea was the priority and that “a huge deployment to the area as part of the search and rescue effort affiliated with the Northern Cyprus coastguard command” had begun.
The coastguard has deployed passenger ships, five pilotage units and two helicopters. Turkish naval forces assigned another six naval units.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Northern Cyprus President Tufan Erhurman described the incident as “the worst maritime disaster Cyprus has ever experienced”.
He said that 267 people, including the crew, had been on board the ferry and that 241 people had been rescued. He also said the vessel was now lying at a depth of 514 metres (about 1,690 feet) after capsizing off the coastal city of Kyrenia.
Extending his condolences on social media, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country had “mobilised all its resources” for the rescue operation.
A spokesman for the government of the Republic of Cyprus, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said Nicosia was prepared to provide “immediate assistance”.
“At such a time, the protection of human life is above all else,” he added.
The catamaran-style vessel left the city known as Kyrenia in Greek and Girne in Turkish at 12:30pm local time (09:30 GMT) on Sunday and began sinking a few kilometres off the coast.
The captain issued a distress call as the ferry began taking on water, prompting the coastguard and port authorities to dispatch rescue teams.
Images broadcast by Turkish television showed the upside-down ferry in the water with people wearing life vests atop its orange hull. The weather was sunny, and several boats were seen in the area to lend assistance.
“All necessary preparations are being made for a swift response from rescue and health services,” Northern Cyprus’s Ministry of Health said in a statement.
It added that hospitals in the territory had been alerted so they could provide any medical attention that might be needed.
The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkiye and occupies less than a third of the divided Mediterranean island.
