More than a full day has passed since a deadly ferry disaster off the coast of northern Cyprus, and search and rescue teams are still working tirelessly to locate 18 missing passengers after the vessel capsized mid-voyage on Sunday. The incident has already left eight people confirmed dead, with 19 others currently receiving medical treatment at local hospitals, according to statements from Northern Cypriot authorities.
The ill-fated vessel was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members when it began taking on water shortly after departing the coastal resort town of Kyrenia, located in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) — a self-declared state recognized only by the international community by Turkey. The high-speed ferry, identified as the 40-meter-long Filo Jet, sails under the Turkish flag and was en route to the Turkish town of Tasucu when the emergency unfolded. Originally scheduled to depart on Saturday, the journey was delayed by 24 hours due to unsafe rough weather conditions, official records confirm.
TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel has shared preliminary details of the chain of events that led to the capsizing, stating that the ferry was struck by two large waves in quick succession. As the captain attempted to stabilize the ship after the first wave hit, a second powerful wave crashed into the vessel, triggering the rapid intake of water that ultimately overwhelmed it. Today, the sunken ferry rests 514 meters below the surface of the Mediterranean, with scattered debris — including floating personal luggage and detached steel plating — still bobbing on the water above the wreck site. Authorities are working to recover the vessel’s black box flight recorder, a critical piece of evidence that will help investigators pinpoint the exact cause of the tragedy.
In the wake of the disaster, law enforcement officials have made multiple arrests: on Monday, the ship’s captain, all seven other crew members, and an additional individual were taken into custody, while arrest warrants have been issued for seven more people connected to the incident. Prime Minister Üstel has declared a three-day period of national mourning across the TRNC to honor the lives lost. The operating company of the ferry, Turkey-based Filo Denizcilik, has released a brief statement saying it is “deeply saddened by the tragic accident.”
At the Kyrenia port, grieving families including the relatives of the missing remain gathered, waiting anxiously for updates on their loved ones. Among them is Ayten Bicer, who is still searching for two of her children — 12-year-old daughter Miray and 6-year-old son Mehmet Asaf. In a heartbreaking interview with local media, Bicer described the final moments she spent with her daughter as they clung to the overturned hull. “She was saying, ‘Don’t let go’. And I didn’t let go of my daughter. I swear, I didn’t let her go,” Bicer said. A falling suitcase knocked her off balance, she explained, and even though she managed to grab Miray’s foot, the child’s oil-slicked shoes slipped through her grip. Bicer and her husband Hayri now wait alongside dozens of other families for any word on their missing relatives.
The disaster unfolds against a long-standing political backdrop: the island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974, with the TRNC controlling the northern third of the territory, while the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus governs the south.