Turkish Cypriot media reported on Tuesday that the official death toll from the shipwreck in the occupied areas may be in question, with suggestions that some victims may not have been registered on the passenger list. Ozgur Gazete published statements from a man who had been aboard the doomed vessel, who said he pulled two bodies from the water on Sunday. He said their names do not appear on the list of eight dead announced the previous day.
Following his statement, members of the “police” arrived at Kyrenia port and took the man in to give a formal statement, so his claims could be investigated. According to Yeni Duzen, a possible discrepancy between the official death toll and the survivor’s account is now under investigation.
Sea searches continue
Search operations continued in the area for a second consecutive night, involving eight ships, nine boats, one aircraft, seven helicopters and five UAV drones. As announced the previous day by “prime minister” Unal Ustel, a specialised search vessel capable of operating at depths of up to 1,000 metres was due to arrive from Turkey on Tuesday to reinforce the search.
Efforts to locate and recover the “black box” from the Filo Jet ferry are ongoing, as authorities try to establish the exact causes of the deadly shipwreck off Kyrenia. The ferry sank to a depth of around 514 metres, significantly complicating data recovery operations.
Authorities are examining all available data on the vessel’s condition, the weather conditions, and the decisions taken before departure. Eight crew members, including the captain, along with one further man, have been arrested as part of the investigation.
The Filo Jet was travelling from occupied Kyrenia to the port of Tasucu in Mersin, Turkey, when it capsized at sea. The vessel was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members. The crossing had originally been scheduled for Saturday but was postponed due to severe weather in the area. Despite improved conditions on Sunday, difficult conditions still prevailed when the accident occurred.
(Information from Yeni Duzen)
