The head of the Turkish administration says at least eight people have died and 18 others are still missing after a passenger boat capsized off northern Cyprus.
Prime minister of the self-proclaimed Turkish republic on Cyprus, Ünal Üstel, said the ferry had been carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members when it began taking on water after departing the coastal town of Kyrenia.
Üstel said the ship’s captain and seven crew members have been detained as part of an investigation into how the tragedy occurred.
Officials say the vast majority of those on board have been rescued.
Meanwhile, a search and rescue operation with Turkish authorities is under way.
The boat has now sunk, and the authorities are attempting to recover its black box recorder to establish what happened.
The privately owned ferry left the popular holiday resort of Kyrenia at about 12:30 local time (09:30 GMT).
Üstel said the boat had been scheduled to travel to Turkey on Saturday, but had been delayed due to poor weather conditions.
He told Turkish media outlet TRT that the boat was hit by two waves before it capsized.
