At least eight people have lost their lives after the sinking this Sunday of a catamaran-type ferry with 267 occupants on board in the waters off northern Cyprus, near the town of Kyrenia, in the area controlled by the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The Turkish Cypriot Minister of Public Works and Transport, Erhan Arikli, has communicated the latest death toll from the sinking of the "Filo Jet," while "intensive" search and rescue efforts continue. The ship is already on the seabed, at a depth of 514 meters, he has specified.
Arikli has indicated that the vessel began to take on water for reasons still to be clarified and ended up capsizing near Kyrenia, known as Girne among Turkish Cypriots. The captain immediately issued a distress signal upon realizing the seriousness of the situation.
The rescued individuals who have required medical attention have been referred to the Dr. Burhan Nalbantoglu State Hospital in Lefkosa, whose staff has confirmed that there are no critically injured and that some of the injured have already been discharged.
The Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister, Ünal Üstel, has emphasized that "all available means" have been activated for the rescue tasks. Additionally, a Crisis Management Team has been established, chaired by Üstel, which has ordered that search and rescue operations continue without interruption, according to Turkish Cypriot media.
"Our only priority right now is human lives. All state institutions, our security forces, our medical personnel, and our search and rescue teams are deployed in total coordination. All necessary resources have been mobilized," the Prime Minister has stressed.
Subsequently, in statements to the Turkish public broadcaster TRT, Üstel has indicated that the possibility is being considered that some of the victims may still be trapped inside the hull. "We cannot take anything for granted right now, (but) it is believed that there are people still inside the ship," he has stated.
In the Crisis Management Team, in addition to Üstel, the Ministers of Transport, Health, Interior, Finance, and Agriculture participate, along with the commander of the Turkish Cypriot Peace Forces, the commander of the Security Forces, the director general of the Police, and the head of the Civil Defense Organization.
At the same time, the mayor of Kyrenia, Murat Senkul, has warned that "the situation is very serious" and has called for caution when disseminating information about what happened. "We are having a difficult day. Please do not trust or share any information that is not official," he has requested on social media.
The Ministry of the Interior of Turkey has detailed the deployment of five vessels and two helicopters from the Turkish Coast Guard, as well as six military ships, which have joined four Turkish-Cypriot vessels and a passenger ship, the "Akgünler 3," also sent to the area. Teams of Turkish divers are also heading to the site of the incident.
Civilian vessels, mostly fishing boats, have approached the point of the shipwreck of the vessel, owned by the private company Filo Denizcilik, while police forces and ambulances have been mobilized, according to information provided by the Turkish-Cypriot authorities.
The ferry was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members and capsized shortly after departing from the port of Kyrenia, about two kilometers from the coast. The ship was making the route between Kyrenia, from where it departed at 12:30 PM on Sunday —11:30 AM in mainland Spain—, and the port of Tasucu, in Mersin, in southern Turkey.
Political context of the island of Cyprus
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when the Turkish Army occupied the north of the island —36.2 percent of the territory— after a coup d'état driven by the military junta that was then governing in Greece, out of fear that the country would be annexed to the latter.
In 1983, the Turkish-Cypriot community proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Ankara, which has about 35,000 troops deployed there. The successive attempts driven by the UN for decades to reunify the eastern Mediterranean island under a bi-zonal federation have not borne fruit to date.