Tenth body recovered after ferry sinking off Kyrenia as search continues

Kyrenia, Cyprus. A tenth body has been recovered from the ferry that sank off the coast of Kyrenia on Sunday, while rescue teams have reported seeing more bodies in the wreckage. Eighteen people are still believed to be missing.

Recovery operation

Turkish Cypriot “prime minister” Unal Ustel said late on Thursday that the body recovered earlier in the evening was that of a woman estimated to be aged between 50 and 55.

Ustel visited Kyrenia port with Turkish Cypriot “deputy prime minister” Fikri Ataoglu and spoke to the families of people who remain unaccounted for. The families have been waiting at the port for news since Sunday.

The body was sent to northern Nicosia’s Dr Burhan Nalbantoglu hospital for identification.

Ustel said more bodies were visible to rescue teams and expressed hope that they could be reached on Friday. He said efforts to locate and recover bodies from the ferry, which sank to a depth of 550 metres, would continue throughout the night.

Turkish naval support

Turkey’s defence ministry spokesman Zeki Akturk said seven Turkish navy ships and 11 aircraft were taking part in the search-and-rescue operation off Kyrenia.

The vessels include the deep-sea rescue ships TCG Isin and TCG Alemdar.

Hospitalised survivors

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, who visited Cyprus on Thursday, said that only two of the 133 people initially hospitalised after being brought ashore alive on Sunday remained in hospital.

He said the two patients were not in a critical condition.

Yilmaz said the operation that recovered the tenth body had been personally overseen by Turkey’s navy commander, Ercument Tatlioglu. He added that efforts to locate and recover the remaining 18 missing people would continue around the clock in the coming weeks.

Turkey has used all its capabilities to lead the search-and-rescue operation since the ferry sank shortly after midday on Sunday.