The privately owned ferry left the port of Kyrenia past noon and immediately started taking on water for an unknown reason, authorities said. It was heading for the Turkish port of Tasucu in Mersin province in the eastern Mediterranean.
The disaster occurred just off the coast of Kyrenia, a popular holiday resort for both locals and tourists. The ferry involved, a catamaran, was one of several shuttle sea services that link North Cyprus with Turkey daily.
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said 237 people had been rescued alive, while seven people had died and 23 people were still being sought.
“We have reached 237 people alive. However, we have also recovered seven people who lost their lives. We are deeply saddened by this,” Erhurman told CNN Turk in a live broadcast.
Video footage showed people in red life jackets sitting or standing on top of the overturned vessel as authorities scrambled coastguard and private vessels for assistance to bring them to shore.
“We have still not been able to reach 23 people. Search and rescue teams are working very intensively to find them,” Erhurman said.
“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.” (Reuters)
