Search for 15 missing after Kyrenia ferry sinking yields no further recoveries

Kyrenia, Cyprus. No bodies have been recovered from the wreckage of a ferry that sank off the coast of Kyrenia last week, Turkish Cypriot leader Unal Ustel said on Sunday. Authorities are seeking new resources and alternative methods to locate 15 people who remain unaccounted for.

Search conditions deteriorate

Ustel said no further missing persons had been found and that conditions for the search-and-rescue operation were becoming increasingly difficult, particularly underwater and inside the sunken vessel.

Families of those missing gathered outside Kyrenia’s new port for an eighth consecutive day awaiting information about their relatives.

He said teams operating from the air, at sea, underwater and on land were continuing their work without interruption, with the aim of reaching all those still missing.

Technical assessments and meetings

Ustel said authorities had initiated efforts to use additional resources and alternative methods. Technical personnel from experienced private organisations were examining the accident area and the wreck and preparing preliminary reports.

He said he would travel to Istanbul on Monday to discuss the reports with specialised organisations experienced in deep-sea wreck searches and ship salvage operations.

The discussions will consider measures to reach the missing people, continue work inside the vessel or salvage the wreck, he said.

Insurance and Turkish consultations

Ustel said he would also meet senior officials from the boat’s insurance company to assess the situation and discuss how the process would proceed.

He will then travel to Ankara for meetings with Turkish officials to review the current situation, the reports received and possible next steps.

Ustel said he would return to Cyprus to share a roadmap for the coming period with the families of the missing and the public, adding that all available state resources, technical capacity and new methods would be used.