KABUL (Pajhwok): At least eight people have died and 18 others are missing after a ferry carrying 267 passengers and crew capsized off North Cyprus on Sunday, leaving survivors clinging to its overturned hull, authorities said.
The privately owned ferry departed the port of Kyrenia at 12:30pm local time (0930 GMT) and began taking on water shortly afterwards for an unknown reason. It was en route to the Turkish port of Tasucu in the eastern Mediterranean, Reuters reported.
Survivors said the ferry was moving erratically before its bow struck the water heavily, causing the front of the two-hulled vessel to break and allowing water to enter.
The vessel was carrying 267 people, including eight crew members. Authorities said 241 people had been rescued, while 18 remained missing.
The incident occurred just off the coast of Kyrenia, a popular holiday resort for locals and tourists.
The ferry was among several shuttle services operating daily between North Cyprus, a breakaway and internationally unrecognised Turkish Cypriot-administered territory, and Turkey.
The incident sent shockwaves across the territory. Hours after the accident, relatives gathered outside a local hospital and at the port gates in Kyrenia, awaiting information about their loved ones.
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said he was “deeply saddened” by the incident.
Video footage showed survivors wearing red life jackets sitting or standing on top of the overturned vessel as coastguard and private vessels rushed to the scene to assist those stranded.
“The vessel had been moving very badly. It was constantly lifting out of the water and slamming back down. It was shaking violently,” survivor Efe Multici told CNN Turk.
“Three or four minutes later, the ferry leapt high into the air and then came crashing down. The front left side burst open and water started pouring in,” he said.
Turkish Cypriot authorities said the captain and seven crew members had been detained for questioning.
By late afternoon, the ferry had sunk and settled on the seabed at a depth of 514 metres (1,686 feet), authorities said.
Divers from Turkey were expected to join the search operation, they added.
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