Eight dead, 17 missing after ferry with over 250 passengers sinks off Kyrenia, northern Cyprus

Eight dead, 17 missing after ferry sinks off Kyrenia, northern Cyprus 

At least eight people have died and 17 remain missing after a passenger ferry carrying 267 people capsized and sank off the coast of Kyrenia in northern Cyprus on Sunday.

The vessel, carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members, was travelling from Kyrenia to the Turkish port of Taşucu when it began taking on water shortly after leaving the harbour.

By Sunday evening, 242 people had been brought safely ashore, although dozens of survivors were taken to hospitals in Kyrenia and northern Nicosia for medical treatment.

Eight dead, 17 missing after ferry with over 250 passengers sinks off northern Cyprus 

The ferry capsized roughly two kilometres north of Kyrenia, after reportedly taking on water several kilometres offshore. It subsequently sank to a depth of 514 metres, significantly complicating efforts to locate those still unaccounted for.

Erhan Arıklı, the Turkish Cypriot public works and transport minister, said a fully equipped vessel and specialist divers from Turkey were expected to arrive within hours to begin searching the seabed.

He said authorities needed to establish exactly what caused the ferry to sink, particularly because the vessel went down rapidly after taking on water.

Eight dead, 17 missing after ferry with over 250 passengers sinks off Kyrenia

Arıklı also rejected early suggestions that the ferry may have been unseaworthy, saying it had undergone an inspection “just two months ago” by what he described as a “reliable company.”

At the same time, he acknowledged that the vessel had “taken on water very quickly and sunk”, adding that its black box “must be recovered” so investigators can determine why the disaster occurred.

The captain and members of the crew have reportedly been detained as authorities begin investigating possible negligence, although the circumstances surrounding the incident have yet to be established.

Massive rescue response

The rescue operation has been led principally by Turkish and Turkish Cypriot authorities.

Turkey deployed coastguard vessels, helicopters and naval ships to assist the operation, while fishing and other civilian boats also rushed to the scene after the ferry issued a distress call.

Eight dead, 17 missing after passenger ferry sinks off Kyrenia 

Survivors were seen wearing life jackets and clinging to the overturned vessel before being taken aboard rescue craft and transported back to Kyrenia.

The number of people rescued increased rapidly throughout the day as coastguard crews and civilian vessels continued searching the surrounding waters.

242 passengers rescued after ferry sinks off northern Cyprus 

The Republic of Cyprus also offered assistance through its Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Larnaca. According to local reporting, however, the offer had not been taken up by the Turkish Cypriot authorities as of Sunday evening.

Erdogan offers condolences

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed condolences to the families of those who died and said Turkey had mobilised its resources immediately after the accident.

“We are closely following the process, in which we have mobilised all the resources of our state. I offer my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the accident and wish a speedy recovery to those who were rescued.”

United Nations Special Representative in Cyprus Khassim Diagne also said he was “deeply saddened” by the sinking, extending his condolences to the Turkish Cypriot authorities and the families of those affected.

He said the UN's thoughts were with those impacted by the disaster and the rescue teams still working to save lives.

Investigation now under way

The ferry's rapid loss of buoyancy has raised questions about what happened moments after it left Kyrenia.

Officials have not yet established the cause. Reports indicate the captain issued a distress call after the vessel began taking on water, while eyewitness accounts described sudden and violent movements before the ferry overturned.

Authorities now face the difficult task of determining whether mechanical failure, structural damage, weather conditions, human error or another factor contributed to the disaster.

The recovery of the vessel's black box is expected to be central to that investigation.

For now, however, the immediate priority remains the 17 people still missing.

With the ferry resting more than half a kilometre beneath the Mediterranean, rescuers face an exceptionally difficult underwater search — even as families wait for news of those who have not yet been found.