Mother tells how daughter slipped away in north Cyprus ferry disaster

Ayten Bicer held on to her 12-year-old daughter as the ferry overturned off northern Cyprus. Then a suitcase fell on the girl, forcing her from her mother’s grasp.

Bicer caught the child’s foot, but engine oil from the overturned vessel had coated the girl’s shoes. They slipped through her hands as the ferry sank. “She was saying, ‘Don’t let go’. And I didn’t let go of my daughter. I swear, I didn’t let her go,” Bicer sobbed.

Her daughter, Miray, and her 6-year-old son, Mehmet Asaf, remained among nearly 20 people missing on Monday. At least eight people died after the double-hulled ferry, carrying 267 people, took in water and flipped shortly after leaving Kyrenia for the Turkish port of Tasucu.

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She was saying, ‘Don’t let go’. And I didn’t let go of my daughter. I swear, I didn’t let her go.

Survivors clung to the overturned hull before passing vessels and coastguard authorities rescued them. A helicopter and a vessel searched waters more than 500 meters deep, while Turkish divers joined the operation. Officials gave differing estimates of the missing, putting the number at either 18 or 19.

Families waited outside Kyrenia port for news. Some sat silently crying, while others checked their phones for updates. Debris floated across the sea, including a black suitcase and a piece of steel that appeared to have broken away from the ferry. Authorities detained the captain and crew as the investigation and search continued.

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We couldn't intervene. We lost our children. We made a lot of effort, but we couldn't save our children. Two of my children are gone. One of my sons is alive. Two of my children are gone. Two of my three children are gone. We left them. We are leaving them on this island as we go.