Sawt Falasteen - Rescuers hunt for missing after deadly N.Cyprus ferry accident

The ferry left the northern port of Girne around midday (0900 GMT) on Sunday en route for the Turkish mainland but capsized shortly afterwards, sparking a major rescue operation, the local authorities said.

There were 267 on board at the time.

Of that number, 241 people were rescued, eight died and another 18 were listed as missing, they said. There was no immediate word on their nationalities.

Several survivors told local media they heard a blast shortly before the vessel rolled, with police detaining the captain and more than a dozen others.

Early on Monday, the captain and eight others were brought before a judge where they were placed under formal arrest as Northern Cyprus began three days of national mourning, the official Cypriot news agency TAK said.

Passengers said the boat had begun taking on water before it capsized about four nautical miles into the journey.

Footage from the scene broadcast by Turkish television showed the capsized ferry with passengers wearing life jackets sitting atop its orange hull.

Shortly afterwards, the ferry totally sank and is currently lying at a depth of 514 metres (1,686 feet), the TRNC's transport minister Erhan Arikli said.

Recovering the vessel's "black box" would help understand what caused the tragedy, he added.

Some survivors said they heard an explosion at the front of the boat, with others saying there wasn't enough safety equipment.

"Some people had to jump without lifebuoys or life jackets," one young man, Efe Multici, told CNN Turk. "It was literally a fight for survival."

Cyprus has been split since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of the island in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup seeking unification with Greece.

Today the island comprises the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which declared independence in 1983 but is only recognised by Ankara, and the EU member Republic of Cyprus in the south.

The TRNC is served by regular air and sea links to Turkey.

Y.Zaher--SF-PST