Ferry Capsizes Off Northern Cyprus, at Least 7 Dead and 23 Missing

A ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers and crew capsized off the coast of Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus on Sunday, killing at least seven people and leaving around two dozen still missing, according to Northern Cyprus Prime Minister Unal Ustel.

The catamaran-style vessel, operated by the Filo Denizcilik ferry company, left the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, around 12:30 p.m. local time bound for the Turkish port of Taşucu in Mersin province, according to Al Jazeera. Turkey's Interior Ministry said 259 passengers and eight crew members were aboard, putting the total at 267.

Ustel told the Turkish state broadcaster TRT that the ferry ran into adverse weather and began taking on water just 15 minutes after departure, roughly 7.5 kilometers, or 4 nautical miles, off the coast, near Diana Beach. The captain issued a distress call soon after, triggering a rescue response from the Northern Cyprus Coast Guard Command and Turkish Naval Forces, according to Al Jazeera, which reported that five pilotage units, two coast guard helicopters and six naval vessels joined the search.

The casualty numbers shifted through the day as officials updated their counts. Ustel initially put the confirmed dead at seven with 237 rescued and 23 unaccounted for, a figure cited by The Independent, Al Jazeera and CBS News. The Guardian's early report cited six dead. Euronews quoted Tufan Erhürman, the Turkish Cypriot leader, telling CNN Turk that rescuers had reached 244 people, of whom seven had died, with 23 still missing. Such discrepancies are typical in fast-moving rescue operations.

Erhürman, speaking from a crisis center set up in the area, told reporters search teams were struggling to reach everyone who may still be trapped. "We have still not been able to reach 23 people," he said, according to The Independent. "If there are people still inside the vessel, reaching them does not appear easy at the moment. Efforts are being made using other technologies to reach them as well."

Kyrenia Mayor Murat Senkul described the situation as "very serious" in a Facebook post, according to Euronews, confirming the ferry belonged to Filo Denizcilik and sank off Diana Beach. Video footage circulating from the scene, cited across multiple outlets including CBS News and Euronews, shows survivors in life vests clinging to the overturned orange hull of the vessel while nearby boats moved in to help. The Ministry of Health of Northern Cyprus said hospitals across the territory had been placed on alert to receive anyone requiring treatment.

Northern Cyprus Transport Minister Erhan Arikli told the Turkish news agency Anadolu that the cause of the sinking would be investigated. No findings on why the ferry took on water so quickly after leaving port have been released as of Sunday afternoon.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek-backed coup triggered a Turkish military invasion and split the island. Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey. Despite that political divide, the office of Republic of Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides offered assistance in a statement reported by Euronews: "Our position is clear: when human lives are at risk, we contribute with every available means. The Republic of Cyprus has the resources, the operational capacity, and, above all, the readiness to provide immediate assistance."

In a separate incident the day before, a Greek-Cypriot businessman in his 70s, Dimis Mavropoulos, died after his sailboat crashed onto rocks in rough seas in southeastern Cyprus, according to The Independent. He was pulled unconscious from the water by a rescue helicopter and later pronounced dead at a hospital; two other people survived and were treated.

The stretch of sea between Kyrenia and southern Turkey is a heavily used commercial and passenger route, and Sunday's disaster is already raising questions about whether the ferry's departure should have been delayed given the weather conditions officials say caused it to founder. Northern Cyprus authorities have not said whether Filo Denizcilik will face any regulatory scrutiny, and no timeline has been given for when the search for the roughly 23 missing passengers will be called off.