A ferry capsized and sank near Northern Cyprus, there are Russian speakers on board

A ferry with passengers is sinking off the coast of Northern Cyprus, there are Russian speakers on board. This is reported by TRT Haber.

The incident occurred about 2-2.5 km from the coast of Girne. There are 279 passengers on the ferry in distress. It is noted that there were also Russian-speaking tourists among the tourists, but it is not yet known whether they are citizens of Russia.

According to the newspaper, the captain noticed that water began to flow into the front of the vessel and tried to return to the shore urgently. However, this could not be done, the ferry capsized.

A large-scale search and rescue operation is currently underway, in which the Coast Guard and crews of nearby vessels are taking part.

The number of missing is still unknown, no information has been received about the dead.

Minister of Public Works and Transport of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Erkhan Arykly, in an interview with TRT Haber, said that a catamaran-type passenger vessel departing from Kyrenia to Mersin Tashuka began to take on water 4 miles from the coast.

"Coast Guard and civil defense teams intervened immediately. Unfortunately, the ship is now upside down. Work continues on the evacuation of about 260 passengers," the minister said.

Passengers are evacuated from the ship and transported to safer places. Ambulances are ready to receive the victims at the port. The rescue operation is complicated by giant waves.

Arykly noted that there is no exact information about the cause of the accident yet, but the sea conditions in the region are quite harsh.

"It's too early to say anything definite, but the sea is quite rough. We will clarify how the incident occurred as a result of the investigation. Our priority is to get passengers on land without human casualties," he added, adding that a field hospital is being deployed in the port.

According to the latest data, those rescued from the ship that capsized off the coast of Kyrenia were taken to the port of Kyrenia, passengers will be taken to the hospitals of the TRNC from there.

The authorities of Northern Cyprus said that the operation is ongoing.

The first data on the dead appeared, although their number is not specified. According to the mayor of Girne, at the moment 160 people have successfully reached the shore, and there were about 279 passengers on board.