Northern Cyprus declares three days of mourning after passenger ship capsizes
Three days of mourning were declared after a passenger ship capsized off Kyrenia, leaving eight people dead and 18 missing.
Kyrenia, Cyprus. The “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”) declared three days of national mourning from August 31 until sunset on September 2, 2026, following the capsizing of a passenger ship travelling between Kyrenia and Taşucu.
Of the 267 passengers on board, 249 have been accounted for, with 241 rescued alive and eight confirmed dead. Search and rescue operations continued for 18 missing people.
Search and rescue operation
Search efforts continued overnight with four vessels equipped with night-vision capability, two helicopters and drones deployed from Turkey on a 24-hour basis.
Turkey committed three aircraft, four UAVs, six helicopters, four Coast Guard boats, a patrol boat, a frigate and a patrol vessel to the operation. The “TRNC” deployed four Coast Guard boats, two helicopters, a patrol boat and a patrol vessel, supported by Civil Defence and police teams.
Victim identification
The identities of four of the eight victims have been confirmed, while efforts to identify the remaining four continued.
“Tourism Minister” Fikri Ataoğlu said another ship from Turkey was expected to join the operation and was likely to arrive on Tuesday. The vessel is expected to enable teams to attempt to reach the missing people at depths of about 500 metres.
Ataoğlu said rescue teams reached the scene around midday after the incident and attributed the rescue of 249 people to the efforts of citizens and emergency teams.
Hospital update
“Health Minister” Hakan Dinçyürek visited Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital in Nicosia early on Monday and said all necessary precautions had been taken from the first moment of the incident.
He said injured people were taken to designated centres to avoid disruption to health services. Patients who completed treatment were being discharged gradually, while the number requiring inpatient care had fallen sharply since the first hours after the accident. No patients remained in critical condition.
According to Yeni Duzen and Kibris Postasi.
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