At least seven people have died and 23 remain missing after a passenger ferry capsized and sank off Northern Cyprus on Sunday, prompting a major search-and-rescue operation in the Mediterranean.
The catamaran-style vessel was carrying 267 people and travelling towards Tasucu in Turkey when it overturned shortly after departing port before reportedly sinking completely.
Authorities said 237 passengers and crew had been rescued, while emergency teams continued searching for those still unaccounted for. The ferry’s captain and seven crew members have been taken into custody as investigators examine the circumstances surrounding the disaster.
Unal Ustel, prime minister of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, said authorities would scrutinise “every aspect” of the incident and that any negligence would be uncovered, while stressing that the immediate priority remained finding the 23 missing people.
🟠 UPDATE: Footage from inside the ferry shows passengers putting on life jackets shortly before the vessel capsized off Northern Cyprus.
At least seven people are dead, 237 have been rescued and 23 remain missing as search operations continue.
The ferry was carrying 267… pic.twitter.com/fUE6OHXd2e
— Planet Report HQ (@PlanetReportHQ) August 30, 2026
A SHIP SINKS IN OCCUPIED CYPRUS, PEOPLE DIE. TURKEY’S REPS TELL THE LEGAL AUTHORITY OF THE ISLAND ITS HELP IS NOT ACCEPTED🚨
Earlier today a passenger ferry left occupied Kyrenia for Mersin with about 267 people on board. Within minutes it took on water and capsized, leaving at… pic.twitter.com/aZfYgmz4NU
— Harry Theocharous (@TheocharousH) August 30, 2026
