Rescue vessel due to reach sunken ferry off Kyrenia, Ustel says
A Turkish deep-sea search vessel is expected to arrive off Cyprus as efforts continue to locate 20 people missing after a ferry sank.
Kyrenia, Cyprus. Search-and-rescue teams hope to reach a ferry that sank off the coast of Kyrenia on Tuesday afternoon, Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel said on Monday. A Turkish vessel capable of operating at depths of up to 3,000 metres is due to arrive in waters off Cyprus on Tuesday morning.
Deep-sea operation planned
Speaking during a visit to the crisis desk at Kyrenia’s new port, Ustel said the Turkish vessel TCG Isin would be deployed in the operation.
He said the ferry had sunk to a depth of 514 metres and was expected to be reached on Tuesday afternoon.
Families await news
At the gate separating the Turkish Cypriot security forces command building from the rest of the port, Ustel was approached by a relative of one of the missing passengers.
The man said his wife was among those unaccounted for and that he had been sent “over here and over there” while searching for her since the ferry capsized.
“My family is gone. Do whatever is needed,” he told Ustel, who replied, “we will”. The man said he wanted his family “whether they are dead or alive”.
Search efforts expanded
Ustel said funerals were being organised for people confirmed to have died in the sinking.
He said the number of missing people had risen from an initial 17 on Sunday afternoon to 20 by Monday afternoon following a comparison of the passenger list with the names of those rescued.
Search-and-rescue operations have been expanded and are continuing around the clock, involving boats, helicopters, aircraft and other rescue teams, he said.
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