Key facts
- A passenger boat with around 270 people on board capsized off North Cyprus on Sunday.
- The vessel was traveling from Kyrenia to the Turkish port of Taşucu.
- A search and rescue operation is currently underway.
- Rough seas are complicating rescue efforts.
- Approximately 159 passengers have been reached so far.
A passenger boat carrying approximately 270 people capsized off the coast of North Cyprus on Sunday, prompting an extensive search and rescue operation. The vessel had departed from Kyrenia and was en route to Taşucu, Turkey, when it began taking on water and overturned.
According to Murat Senkul, the mayor of Kyrenia, 159 of the 258 passengers on board had been reached. Erhan Arikli, the public works minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, confirmed the ship was upside down and that efforts were focused on evacuating the remaining passengers. He noted that the sea conditions were rough, adding a challenge to the ongoing rescue efforts.