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At least seven dead after ferry capsizes off northern Cyprus
Confirmed
Updated on: August 30, 2026 / 9:37 AM EDT / AP At least seven people have died after a ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers and crew capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus on Sunday, Turkish media reported. Northern Cyprus Prime Minister Unal Ustel said that at least seven people died after the ferry capsized, CNN Turk reported on Sunday, adding that 237 others had been rescued and 23 people remained missing.
Kyrenia Mayor Murat Senkul said the ship belonged to the Filo Denizcilik ferry company and sank off the coast of Diana Beach on Cyprus' northern coast. An urgent search is underway to find the 23 missing people, the self-declared northern Cyprus prime minister said.
“There has been a huge deployment to the area as part of the search-and-rescue effort affiliated with the Northern Cyprus Coast Guard Command,” Al Jazeera correspondent Resul Serdar said. “All necessary preparations are being made for a swift response from rescue and health services,” the Ministry of Health of Northern Cyprus said in a statement.
The ferry started taking in water about 7.5 kilometers, or 4 nautical miles, off the coast, TRT reported. The captain issued a distress call as the ferry began taking water, prompting the Coast Guard and port authorities to dispatch rescue teams to the area.
Mr Ustel said the ferry faced adverse weather conditions and began taking in water just 15 minutes after departure before a call for help was issued. According to Marine Traffic, it left the northern Cypriot port of Kyrenia at 11:58am on Sunday and was due to arrive at Tasucu in Turkey at 5.52pm local time.
Images broadcast by Turkish television showed the upside-down ferry in the water, with people wearing life vests atop its orange hull. Search teams are having difficulty reaching possible passengers in the capsized ferry, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has said.
What's confirmed
- Updated on: August 30, 2026 / 9:37 AM EDT / AP At least seven people have died after a ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers and crew capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus on Sunday, Turkish media reported.
- Northern Cyprus Prime Minister Unal Ustel said that at least seven people died after the ferry capsized, CNN Turk reported on Sunday, adding that 237 others had been rescued and 23 people remained missing.
- The captain issued a distress call as the ferry began taking water, prompting the Coast Guard and port authorities to dispatch rescue teams to the area.
- Mr Ustel said the ferry faced adverse weather conditions and began taking in water just 15 minutes after departure before a call for help was issued.
- Kyrenia Mayor Murat Senkul said the ship belonged to the Filo Denizcilik ferry company and sank off the coast of Diana Beach on Cyprus' northern coast.
- The ferry started taking in water about 7.5 kilometers, or 4 nautical miles, off the coast, TRT reported.
- An urgent search is underway to find the 23 missing people, the self-declared northern Cyprus prime minister said.
What's still developing
- “There has been a huge deployment to the area as part of the search-and-rescue effort affiliated with the Northern Cyprus Coast Guard Command,” Al Jazeera correspondent Resul Serdar said.
- Images broadcast by Turkish television showed the upside-down ferry in the water, with people wearing life vests atop its orange hull.
- “All necessary preparations are being made for a swift response from rescue and health services,” the Ministry of Health of Northern Cyprus said in a statement.
- Search teams are having difficulty reaching possible passengers in the capsized ferry, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has said.
- According to Marine Traffic, it left the northern Cypriot port of Kyrenia at 11:58am on Sunday and was due to arrive at Tasucu in Turkey at 5.52pm local time.