Sunken passenger ferry located 550 metres below sea off Kyrenia

Kyrenia, Cyprus. A search-and-rescue team aboard the Turkish research vessel TCG Isin located an object believed to be the passenger ferry that sank off Kyrenia on Sunday, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said on Tuesday afternoon. The object was detected at a depth of 550 metres.

Search operations continue

Speaking outside Kyrenia’s new port, where a crisis desk has been operating since Sunday afternoon, Erhurman said the object was currently considered to be the sunken ship.

He said work to gather further information about the wreckage would continue overnight and into Wednesday morning, with the TCG Isin able to operate at night.

Surface and aerial search-and-rescue operations were continuing without interruption, he said, with aircraft and helicopters searching the waters around Kyrenia.

Second vessel expected

Erhurman confirmed that the TCG Alemdar, a second deep-sea search-and-rescue vessel, was expected to arrive off Kyrenia on Wednesday.

Earlier, he said the vessel was on its way to Cyprus and was reportedly capable of carrying out searches at depths of up to 3,000 metres.

Families await information

Erhurman’s remarks were interrupted by Ayten Bicer, whose two young children remain unaccounted for after being aboard the ferry when it sank.

Bicer called for information about her children and said families had been waiting for hours. Erhurman said he understood her concerns and promised to visit the tent across the road from the Turkish Cypriot security forces building where families were waiting.

He later spent more than half an hour listening to the families, accompanied by ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel, ‘energy minister’ Olgun Amcaoglu, ‘finance minister’ Ozdemir Berova and ‘interior minister’ Dursun Oguz.

Some families also called for ‘transport minister’ Erhan Arikli to visit the port and speak with them.