Situation described as serious
Nicosia.- A passenger ferry with 270 people on board capsized this Sunday off the coast of northern Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot coast guard has deployed an urgent rescue operation, local authorities reported, describing the situation as “serious.”
While some media outlets claim that the ship capsized, the Minister of Transport of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Erhan Arikli, told the press that the ship was about to sink off the coast of the New Port of Girne (Kyrenia in Greek).
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For his part, the mayor of the city of Girne described the situation as “serious” and stated that the ship had sunk.
«The situation is extremely serious»
“The passenger and cargo ship Diana, belonging to Filo Maritime, sank off Diana beach. There are a total of 270 people on board, including passengers and crew,” the mayor specified on his social media.
«A passenger ship belonging to the shipping company Filo Denizcilik has sunk off the coast of Diana Beach. A total of 270 people, including passengers and crew, are on board», the mayor specified on his social media.
“The situation is extremely serious. The Coast Guard, the Akgünler company’s Express vessel, and numerous small boats are participating in the rescue efforts,” he added.
According to the CyprusMail newspaper, the vessel was a ferry that set sail from Girne bound for the Turkish port of Tasucu and capsized early this afternoon about four miles north of the Cypriot coast.
The causes of the accident are unknown.
In addition to the Turkish Cypriot coast guard boats, a rescue helicopter was sent as reinforcement and several other vessels set sail from Girne to assist in the rescue efforts.
