Sawt Falasteen - Another body recovered after ferry capsizes off northern Cyprus: official

The ferry carrying 267 people sank on Sunday shortly after leaving Kyrenia port on the northern shore of the divided island.

Eight of the dead were Turkish, according to officials from the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) -- an entity recognised only by Ankara.

"There were 20 people missing, and we have recovered the body of one of them," TRNC Prime Minister Unal Ustel told reporters, adding that the victim was believed to be a man aged about 50.

The latest recovery raised the death toll to nine and reduced the number of missing people to 19.

Ustel did not say where the body had been found. Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, he said authorities believed the missing individuals had been on board the vessel when it capsized.

The FiloJet, a French-made catamaran registered in 2001, is lying at a depth of 550 metres (1,700 feet) with two Turkish navy vessels equipped with deep-diving drones examining the wreckage.

Earlier, TRNC president Tufan Erhurman confirmed they had reached the ferry, which foundered several nautical miles from the port from which it had left for the Turkish mainland at around midday on Sunday.

"Survey and search operations are continuing on a 24-hour basis and will continue without interruption," he added.

On Tuesday, a specialist Turkish vessel, the TCG Isin -- equipped with an underwater drone capable of descending to depths up to 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) -- joined the rescue operation with a second, the TCG Alemdar, arriving on Wednesday.

Two more of the dead were reportedly buried in the Turkish port city of Mersin as northern Cyprus observed a third day of national mourning.

- From IrisJet to FiloJet -

Police detained the ferry's captain and 15 others, nine of whom appeared in court in Kyrenia on Monday charged with negligent homicide, with another seven people also facing court proceedings.

In court, the captain said the front of the vessel had been smashed open by the force of the waves, Turkey's Anadolu news agency said.

When it was first registered 25 years ago, the ferry went under the name IrisJet.

According to International Maritime Organization (IMO) data seen by AFP, the IrisJet sailed under a Spanish flag between 2011 and 2017.

But data from the Equasis global merchant shipping database showed the IrisJet flying a Spanish flag up to 2011 after which there was a six-year gap until 2017 when it re-emerged under a Greek flag.

Since 2024, it has flown a Cyprus flag and operated under the name FiloJet.

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 breakaway republic, which declared independence in 1983 but is only recognised by Turkey, and the EU member Republic of Cyprus in the south.

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

M.AbuKhalil--SF-PST