Captain in court over deadly north Cyprus ferry accident as 20 still missing
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Relatives watch a rescue helicopter flying outside Kyrenia port, in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus, on Aug 31. Twenty people are still missing after a crowded ferry carrying 267 people capsized on Aug 30.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- A ferry carrying 267 people capsized off northern Cyprus, killing at least eight and leaving 20 missing as rescue efforts continue.
- The ferry captain and 15 others were detained and charged with negligent homicide amid ongoing investigations including black box data retrieval.
- Survivors reported a possible explosion and insufficient safety equipment, while authorities vowed full accountability and three days of mourning began in northern Cyprus.
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ISTANBUL - The captain of a ferry that capsized off northern Cyprus, leaving at least eight dead, appeared in court on Aug 31 as rescuers continued to hunt for 20 people still missing, officials said.
The crowded ferry carrying 267 people capsized on Aug 30 about four nautical miles offshore shortly after leaving the port of Kyrenia on the northern shores of the divided island.
Rescuers in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Ankara, pulled 239 people to safety, but eight others died “and the search continues for 20 people,” prime minister Unal Ustal said.
There was no immediate information on the nationalities of the dead or the missing.
Police detained the captain and 15 others. Nine of them appeared in court in Kyrenia, known as Girne in Turkish, charged with negligent homicide as northern Cyprus began three days of mourning, the official TAK news agency said.
Addressing the court, the captain and crew said the front of the vessel had been smashed open by the force of the waves, Turkey’s Anadolu state news agency said.
TRNC president Tufan Erhurman told reporters divers were trying to retrieve data from the vessel’s so-called “black box” in order to understand what caused the deadly incident.
“Divers were deployed today… and this effort will continue tomorrow as well,” he said, vowing “to get to the bottom of every aspect”. He stressed that the ferry company “will certainly be held accountable”.
“Definitive information will likely be provided tomorrow (Sept 1) in the form of confirmed data,” he said.
A helicopter and a vessel operating near the area where a ferry capsized off the coast of Kyrenia, in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus, on Aug 31.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Khassim Diagne, the UN Secretary-General’s representative in Cyprus, said he was “deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life” and extended his sincere condolences to the families affected.
‘Fight for survival’
Several survivors from the vessel – reportedly a French-made Filo-Jet catamaran – said they heard what sounded like an explosion shortly before it capsized.
Passengers said the boat had begun taking on water, with the captain trying to return to port before the vessel capsized.
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 sank and is currently lying at a depth of 514m, the TRNC’s transport minister Erhan Arikli said.
Some survivors said there wasn’t enough safety equipment for all the passengers.
“Some people had to jump without lifebuoys or life jackets,” one young man, Efe Multici, told CNN Turk. “It was literally a fight for survival.”
Turkey sent six naval vessels and two drones, among others, to help the rescue efforts on Aug 30, which were also joined by private boats in the area.
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 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. AFP
