The Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister, Ünal Üstel, reported this Monday the departure from Çanakkale, Turkey, of a technical vessel equipped with professional divers to try to access the interior of the catamaran ferry 'Filo Jet', which sank on Sunday north of Cyprus with dozens of people still presumed trapped inside. On board the ship were 267 people, and so far, 20 are reported missing and eight deceased.
"We expect to reach the ship by tomorrow afternoon, which is located at a depth of 514 meters," Üstel pointed out in statements reported by the Turkish Cypriot press.
The ship sent by Turkey is prepared to operate at depths of up to 1,000 meters, so it has sufficient margin to operate in the area where the 'Filo Jet' is located.
Üstel emphasized the rapid response of the security forces, the Turkish military contingent deployed by Ankara in the north of the island, and the reinforcement of human and material resources sent from Turkish territory to support the search and rescue efforts.
Regarding the fatalities, the Turkish Cypriot leader noted that the delivery of the bodies to their families has already begun, after the identities of the deceased, all of Turkish nationality, were made public. Concerning the 20 missing persons, their names have also been released: they are 18 Turkish citizens and two Turkish Cypriots.
The injured were evacuated to Doctor Akçiçek Hospital in Kyrenia —Girne in Turkish—, to Etsatal Burhan Nalbantoglu Hospital in Lefkosa, and to the Middle East Hospital, where they remain under medical care.
Meanwhile, this Monday, the detention of nine people was announced for their alleged involvement in the incident, while the official investigation to clarify what happened is ongoing.
The ferry was covering the route between the Turkish Cypriot city of Kyrenia and the port of Mersin in southern Turkey. Among the people on board were 259 passengers and eight crew members.
The accident occurred shortly after departure when the ship began to take on water, lost stability, capsized, and ended up sinking. The initial conclusions point to a possible rupture in the hull of the ship, operated by the company Filo Denizcilik. So far, 239 people have been rescued alive.
Cyprus has been divided into two since 1974, when the Turkish Army occupied the north of the island —36.2 percent of the territory— after a coup d'état sponsored by the military junta that ruled Greece and in fear of a possible union of the island with that country.
In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot community proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey, which maintains about 35,000 soldiers there. The numerous attempts driven by the UN for decades to reunify this territory of the eastern Mediterranean under a bi-zonal federation have not prospered to date.