Rescuers search for missing after deadly North Cyprus ferry accident

Rescuers were searching on Monday for survivors a day after a ferry capsized off Northern Cyprus, leaving eight people dead and 18 missing, authorities said.

The ferry departed from the northern port of Girne around midday on Sunday bound for the Turkish mainland but capsized shortly afterwards, triggering a major rescue operation. There were 267 people on board, of whom 241 were rescued, while eight died and 18 remained missing, according to local authorities. Their nationalities were not immediately disclosed.

Several survivors told local media they heard a blast shortly before the vessel overturned, while others said the ferry had begun taking on water before the accident, about four nautical miles into the journey.

Police detained the captain and more than a dozen others following the incident. The captain and eight others were brought before a judge early Monday and formally arrested, according to the official Cypriot news agency TAK.

Northern Cyprus has declared three days of national mourning for the victims.

Footage broadcast by Turkish television showed passengers wearing life jackets clinging to the overturned ferry’s orange hull. The vessel later sank completely and is now lying at a depth of 514 metres, Northern Cyprus Transport Minister Erhan Arikli said.

Arikli said recovering the ferry’s “black box” could help investigators determine the cause of the disaster. Survivors gave differing accounts of the incident, with some reporting an explosion at the front of the vessel and others saying there had not been enough safety equipment on board.