At least seven people have died after a ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers and crew capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus on Sunday.
More than 172 people have been rescued so far, Northern Cyprus Prime Minister Unal Ustel told Turkish state-run TRT, AP reported.
The catamaran-style ferry was travelling from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, in the breakaway north of ethnically divided Cyprus, to the Turkish port of Tasucu in Mersin province, according to AP. According to an official quoted by AFP, the capsized ferry has “completely sunk”.
According to the local Kibris newspaper, the ferry started taking in water about four miles off the shore. Ambulances had been dispatched to the scene, it said.
"All necessary preparations are being made for a swift response from rescue and health services," the health ministry of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which governs the northern third of the divided island of Cyprus, said in a statement, according to AFP.
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Meanwhile, Northern Cyprus Transportation Minister Erhan Arikli told Turkish state-run TRT news channel that the ship had overturned and that rescue crews were already on the scene, AP reported.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Northern Cyprus Transportation Minister Erhan Arikli told Turkish state-run TRT news channel that the ship had overturned and that rescue crews were already on the scene, AP reported.
{{/usCountry}}He added that about 100 people have been rescued and brought to Kyrnia so far, with search and rescue operations ongoing, according to Bloomberg.
“We don’t know what caused the vessel to take on water,” Arikli said.
While many companies run ferries on the busy route between Kyrenia and TasucuIt, it is not yet known which company was operating the ferry that capsized.
Visuals on social media show people with life-vests floating in the waters around the capsized vessel.
In a similar incident, a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of southern Tunisia, killing at least two people and leaving 12 missing, Tunisia's national guard said. One survivor was rescued.
Guard spokesperson Houssem Eddine Jebabli told state news agency that authorities recovered two bodies and transferred them to a hospital on the nearby island of Djerba.
He told national radio Mosaique FM that about 15 people were believed to be aboard the boat when it took off between the cities of Zarzis and Ben Guerdane.
(With inputs from agencies)