Ninth victim identified after Kyrenia ferry sinking as search continues

Kyrenia, Cyprus. Ismail Kurt, one of two Cypriots unaccounted for after a ferry sank off the coast of Kyrenia, was identified late on Wednesday as the ninth body recovered from the wreckage.

Rescue operations continued for a fifth consecutive day on Thursday, with 19 people still missing.

Search and rescue operations

The search effort was led by the Turkish deep-sea rescue vessels TCG Isin and TCG Alemdar, supported by aerial and marine assets deployed in the area.

Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel said on Wednesday evening that search-and-rescue operations would continue “24/7”. He said visibility was “very limited” at a depth of 550 metres, where the ferry remains.

Asked whether rescuers had seen other bodies, Ustel said “no other findings have been encountered so far”.

Passengers and survivors

The Turkish Cypriot ‘health ministry’ said earlier on Wednesday that three people who reached shore alive after the sinking remained in hospital.

The ferry had 259 passengers and eight crew members on board when it capsized and sank within minutes of leaving Kyrenia’s new port shortly after midday on Sunday.

Minister removed amid investigation

Ustel announced on Wednesday evening that he had removed Erhan Arikli from his post as ‘transport minister’, as investigations into the cause of the accident continued.

“We cannot allow the shadow of suspicion to arise during the investigation process,” Ustel said, adding that no person removed from office could be declared guilty before a judicial verdict.

Arikli said the decision was not “ethical” and convened a late-night meeting of his party, the YDP’s central administrative board. The board agreed to a motion to withdraw support for the ruling coalition, a decision expected to be considered by the party’s decision-making assembly on Thursday.