Newsroom
At least seven people have died and 23 remain missing after a passenger ferry carrying 267 people capsized off Kyrenia on Sunday, triggering a major search-and-rescue operation in the waters north of Cyprus.
A total of 237 passengers and crew members have been rescued, according to Turkish Cypriot authorities. Boats and helicopters continued searching the area for those still unaccounted for, with support from Turkey.
The ferry, identified as the FILOJET, was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members from Kyrenia to Taşucu, a port in Turkey’s Mersin province. It reportedly began taking on water about 15 to 20 minutes after leaving port and issued an SOS.
The vessel was approximately four nautical miles, about 7.5 kilometers, from the coast when it ran into difficulty and overturned.
Images from the scene showed the ferry lying upside down in the water as passengers wearing life jackets waited in the sea or clung to its exposed hull. The cause of the accident has not yet been established.
BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 30, 2026
A passenger ferry has capsized north of Cyprus shortly after setting off for Turkey.
280 people were onboard. A massive rescue operation is underway, with many people in the water. pic.twitter.com/0mT7UTe9j3
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman and Turkish Cypriot administration head Ünal Üstel attended a crisis meeting as the scale of the disaster became clear.
Üstel said every available resource had been mobilized to locate the missing, assist survivors, and ensure that injured passengers received medical treatment.
KURTARMA ÇALIŞMALARI HELİKOPTER EŞLİĞİNDE SÜRÜYOR!
— Özgür Gazete Kıbrıs (@CyprusNewspaper) August 30, 2026
Girne Limanı'ndan çıkış yaptıktan kısa süre sonra su almaya başlayan ve alabora olan Filo Jet'e ait Express Yolcu Gemisi'ndeki 250'den fazla yolcuyu kurtarma çalışmaları devam ediyor.
Çalışmalara helikopterler de eşlik ediyor.… pic.twitter.com/Py2pkf0r6I
The Republic of Cyprus also offered to help from the first stages of the emergency.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre contacted the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus, asking it to convey to the Turkish Cypriot side that the Republic was ready to provide aircraft, vessels, and other search-and-rescue resources. It also offered to take over the operation if required.
President Nikos Christodoulides sought direct communication with Erhürman through the Greek Cypriot negotiator to repeat the offer.
Government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said Cyprus was following the tragedy with “deep sadness and anguish.”
“Our thoughts are with those who lost their lives, the injured, all those experiencing this tragedy and their families,” he said, adding that protecting human life must come before everything else.
The search remained underway Sunday, and the casualty figures could change as rescuers continued looking for survivors.
DENİZDE CAN PAZARI: KURTARILMAYI BEKLEYEN YÜZLERCE YOLCU, TERS DÖNEN GEMİNİN ÜZERİNDE BEKLİYOR!
— Özgür Gazete Kıbrıs (@CyprusNewspaper) August 30, 2026
Girne Limanı'ndan çıkış yaptıktan kısa süre sonra 2-3 km açıkta alabora olan 279 kişinin bulunduğu Filo Jet'e ait Express Yolcu Gemisi'ndeki yolcular ters dönen geminin üzerinde… pic.twitter.com/Z19sNxhW90
*Sources: Reuters and The Associated Press
