Eight dead and 20 missing after catamaran sinks off Kyrenia

Kyrenia, Cyprus. The names of eight people confirmed dead and 20 others still missing were released on Monday, nearly 23 hours after the catamaran Filo Jet sank four nautical miles off Kyrenia.

Victims and missing passengers

Of the 28 people involved, two were identified as citizens of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and 26 as Turkish citizens.

The dead were named as Nurcan Hilaloglu, Nihan Balyemez, Huseyin Ozdemir, Nuray Zeytun, Fahri Ates, Gulcan Gurel, Reyhan Verim and Nisa Torer. Hilaloglu’s daughter, Ani Azel, is among those missing.

The missing also include siblings Saliha Bicer, 12, and Mehmet Bicer, 6. Their mother appeared in media and social media videos searching for them, saying she had been holding her daughter’s hand when she lost her grip.

Other missing people were named as Ferdi Torer, Mustafa Demir, Mahmut Demir, Elmas Demir, Serif Ozdemir, Yula Ozcan, Ayhan Ozcan, Ozgur Gonul, Orhan Beket, Nazmiye Ozbolat, Elif Bayir, Nihat Pancar, Mustafa Kemal Yarali, Mehmet Bayhan, Mehmet Nuri Ayran, Suleyman Erdogan and Ismail Kurt.

Search and investigation

Unal Ustel said in a written statement that search and rescue operations were continuing, with efforts focused on locating the 20 missing people. He said a police investigation into the circumstances of the sinking was also under way.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman visited the crisis management centre on Monday and spoke with relatives of passengers. He said search operations had continued without interruption and that a vessel from Turkey capable of searching at depths of up to 1,000 metres was expected to arrive on Tuesday.

Erhurman said nine people had been arrested as part of an investigation into responsibility for the disaster. He said the inquiry would be conducted transparently in light of the complaints received and that those responsible would be held accountable.

Families gather at port

Relatives of the victims and missing passengers gathered at Kyrenia port throughout the day. The mother of the missing Bicer children appealed tearfully for help while Kamu-İş union president Ahmet Serdaroglu spoke to reporters.

Serdaroglu criticised the delay in releasing the names of the victims.

Earlier, the Turkish Cypriot news agency reported that 19 people were receiving treatment in hospital, including 10 at the general hospital in Nicosia and the remainder at other public and private medical facilities.