Cyprus searches for 20 missing after ferry sinks off coast, killing eight

More than 24 hours after the Filojet ferry sank off northern Cyprus, rescue teams were still searching for 20 missing people. The accident killed at least eight of the 267 people aboard, all of them Turkish citizens, while 239 people were rescued alive.

The missing-person total rose from 18 to 20 after authorities determined that two people initially listed as rescued were not accounted for. Prime Minister Ünal Üstel said officials reached the revised figure by comparing the passenger list with hospital records. Nineteen injured people remained hospitalized, but none was considered in danger of dying.

The ferry sent a distress call at 12:10 p.m. local time on Sunday, reporting that it was taking on water. The 40.5-meter catamaran later capsized and sank in waters reaching 514 meters in depth.

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The black box could provide key information about the exact cause and sequence of the accident.

Turkish assistance included three aircraft, four unmanned aerial vehicles, six helicopters, four Coast Guard vessels, a missile ship, a frigate and a patrol boat. A Turkish vessel capable of searching to 500 meters was expected to arrive on Tuesday, and authorities planned a robotic dive to the wreck. Officials also hoped to recover the ship’s black box to help establish the precise cause and sequence of the accident.

The captain and seven crew members were detained on Sunday. Authorities arrested the director of Turkish shipping company Filo Denizcilik, which owned the vessel, on Monday. All nine faced allegations of “homicide through negligence and recklessness” and were ordered into preventive detention for at least three days while the investigation continued. Transport Minister Erhan Arikli said the ferry had passed an inspection only two months earlier.

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Homicide through negligence and recklessness