At least six people died when a ferry capsized off Northern Cyprus on Sunday, the head of the local government said, in a preliminary toll to Turkish media.
Unal Ustel, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), said the vessel had been carrying a total of 267 people when it rolled over shortly after leaving port, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu.
Ustel added that 172 people had so far been rescued and that operations were continuing to evacuate the remaining passengers and crew, Anadolu said.
Turkey’s ambassador to Nicosia, Ali Murat Basceri, confirmed there were deaths, without giving a number. He told Turkish state television network TRT that “the large majority of the 259 passengers have been rescued”.
The cause of the capsize was not immediately known.
It occurred shortly after the ferry departed from the Northern Cyprus port of Kyrenia headed for the Turkish port of Tasucu.
Images broadcast by Turkish television showed the upside-down ferry in the water, with people wearing life vests atop its orange hull. The weather was sunny and several boats were seen in the area to lend assistance.
The TRNC, which is recognised only by Turkey, controls the northern third of the island of Cyprus, which has been divided since 1974.
Ankara occupied that part of the island that year in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup seeking union with Greece. The TRNC today is served with regular air and sea links to Turkey.
“All necessary preparations are being made for a swift response from rescue and health services,” the TRNC’s health ministry said in a statement.
It added that hospitals in the territory had been alerted, so they could provide any medical attention that might be needed.
The TRNC is dependent on Turkey, and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said on X that “we are providing all necessary assistance to the search and rescue operations”.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to visit the TRNC on Monday to see its president, Tufan Erhurmann, who was elected by the territory’s voters in October.
The visit would be Erdogan’s first since 2023.
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