At least eight die, 18 missing after ferry capsizes off North Cyprus

At least eight people died and 18 were missing after a ferry carrying around 270 passengers and crew capsized off North Cyprus on Sunday, leaving survivors clinging to its overturned hull.

The privately owned ferry left the port of Kyrenia at 12:30 p.m. local time (0930 GMT) and immediately started taking on water for an unknown reason, authorities said.

It was heading for the Turkish port of Tasucu in the eastern Mediterranean.

Survivors reported the ferry moving erratically, with its last hard impact with the water’s surface breaking the bow of the two-hulled vessel, allowing water to seep in.

The boat was carrying 267 people, including a crew of eight, while 241 people were rescued.

The disaster occurred just off the coast of Kyrenia, a popular holiday resort for both locals and tourists.

The ferry was one of several shuttle sea services that link North Cyprus, a breakaway unrecognised Turkish Cypriot state, with Turkey daily.

The incident has sent shockwaves through the territory.

Hours after the incident relatives remained outside a local hospital and the port gates in Kyrenia, waiting for news of their loved ones.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said he was “deeply saddened” by the incident.

Video footage showed people in red life jackets sitting or standing on top of the overturned vessel as authorities scrambled coastguard and private vessels for assistance to bring them to shore.

“The vessel had been moving very badly.

It was constantly lifting out of the water and slamming back down.

It was shaking violently,” survivor Efe Multici told CNN Turk.