A deep-sea search team from Turkey was expected to arrive in northern Cyprus on Tuesday to help locate 20 people still missing after the Filo Jet ferry sank two days earlier, killing at least eight people.
Authorities in northern Cyprus have arrested nine people in connection with the disaster, including the ferry’s 66-year-old captain, Mustafa Oz. Some reports cited witnesses as alleging that he abandoned the vessel after it capsized, though that claim has not been independently confirmed.
Survivors rescued after northern Cyprus ferry capsizes, with belongings scattered across the sea
Other detainees reportedly include shareholders in the company that operated the ferry.
The Filo Jet was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members on Sunday afternoon when it ran into trouble while sailing from Kyrenia in northern Cyprus to the Turkish port of Tasucu.
About seven kilometers off the northern Cyprus coast, water began entering the vessel and the captain sent a distress signal.
Witnesses said the wide-bodied catamaran began listing and rocking violently before slamming back onto the water. Part of its bow reportedly broke apart on impact, creating a breach as passengers heard what they described as an explosion.
Passengers then began jumping into the sea in an attempt to survive.
Footage from the scene showed suitcases and other belongings scattered across the water as the ferry went down.
Authorities believe there is a significant possibility that passengers who failed to escape were trapped inside cabins when the ferry overturned.
Of the 20 people still missing, 18 are Turkish citizens and two are from northern Cyprus. Children are among the missing.
The wreck now lies more than 500 meters below the surface, beyond the reach of equipment currently available to authorities in northern Cyprus, prompting the deployment of a specialist team from Turkey.
The cause of the disaster remains under investigation.
Authorities said the vessel, built around 2000, apparently held the required permits, including safety certification.
The moment several passengers were rescued
(Photo: Reuters TV via REUTERS)
A court on Monday extended the detention of nine people connected with the ferry’s operation for three days.
Several survivors have also alleged that there were not enough life jackets on board.
“Some people had to jump without a lifebuoy or a life jacket. It was a fight for survival,” survivor Efe Multici told CNN Türk.
Turkish newspaper Sabah reported that one victim, Fahri Ates, went back inside the ferry in an attempt to find life jackets for his wife and child but became trapped. His wife and child survived.
The FILOJET ferry, believed to have sunk with some victims trapped inside its cabins
(Photo: Altay Alan/via REUTERS)
One of the most harrowing accounts came from Ayten Bicer, who was returning to Turkey with her family after a vacation in northern Cyprus.
Her six-year-old son Mehmet and 12-year-old daughter Saliha remain missing.
“I lost two of my children,” Bicer told Turkey’s DHA news agency as she cried. “My daughter slipped out of my hands right in front of my eyes. She said, ‘Don’t let go.’ And I didn’t let go of my daughter. I swear, I didn’t let her go.”
Bicer said a suitcase fell on her during the chaos, causing her daughter to slip from her grasp.
She managed to grab the girl by the leg, but said her daughter’s shoe had become covered in engine oil from the overturned vessel and slipped from her hands.
“Mehmet was holding onto his father here,” Bicer said, pointing to the collar of her shirt. “He shouted, ‘Baba,’” the Turkish word for father.
Her husband, Hayri Bicer, said the disaster unfolded too quickly for the family to react.
“We couldn’t do anything,” he said. “We lost two of our three children. We’re leaving and leaving them behind on this island.”
Northern Cyprus has declared three days of mourning following the disaster.
The territory has been controlled since 1983 by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognized only by Turkey. The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus controls the rest of the island.