Families of missing ferry passengers return to Kyrenia port entrance

Kyrenia, Cyprus. Families of those missing after a ferry sank off the coast of Kyrenia returned to the entrance of the new port on Tuesday afternoon after briefly relocating to another area of the complex.

The move followed an offer by the north’s ‘interior minister’, Dursun Oguz, to provide them with a room away from the heat, but the families found tents set up outside the passenger terminal instead.

Minister’s visit

Oguz emerged from the crisis desk and told the families that a room had been arranged elsewhere at the port to allow them to get out of the heat.

During his remarks, he referred to the 20 missing people as “corpses”, prompting an angry reaction from relatives. He quickly corrected himself and later described them as “brothers”.

Families reject alternative location

The families moved to an area near the ferry passenger terminal, where they found tents set up in front of a building.

One person in the crowd said they had been promised an air-conditioned room but remained outside in the heat.

Some relatives said they believed authorities wanted them moved following heightened tensions and a scuffle between family members and police earlier in the day, when Turkish ambassador in Nicosia Ali Murat Basceri arrived.

Return to port entrance

As tensions rose again, many families walked back towards the port entrance, where they had initially set up camp. Some boarded a bus parked outside the passenger terminal and asked its driver to take them back to the entrance.

On their return, they found workers from the Turkish Cypriot Kyrenia municipality removing tables, chairs and tents that had been set up for them. The workers soon returned the furniture, while the nearby Lord’s Palace hotel sent additional chairs to the port entrance.