Survivors of the Cyprus ferry disaster have described the terrifying moment they scrambled to escape as the vessel overturned, with one telling how he watched young children drown. Eight people died and 18 are still missing after the ferry, carrying 267 passengers and crew, capsized around four nautical miles off the coast of northern Cyprus on Sunday.
Escape through a broken window
Among those caught in the disaster was Serkan Kunduraci, who escaped by pulling himself through a broken window. From the sinking vessel, he said he saw passengers in the water who were unable to survive. He said: “I saw some who didn’t know how to swim die in the sea.”
“There were those who, in a panic, didn’t grab life jackets. Some jumped (into the sea) immediately out of fear. There was an old man, we couldn’t get him. We tried to pull him up, but we couldn’t. He drowned too. We saw and witnessed a family’s children, boys and girls, very young children, drowning.”
Panic spreads as the ferry lists
The horror unfolded after passengers heard several loud noises coming from below deck. The ferry began taking on water and listing, while those onboard were initially reassured that the problem was not serious. Serkhan told DHA news agency: “The crew came, took a look and told us there wasn’t a major problem, just a loose gasket causing a leak.”
But as the vessel tilted further, panic spread through the passenger areas. He said the captain appeared to try to turn the ferry back towards Kyrenia, leaving some people trapped towards the rear. He added: “There was so much screaming and so many people were trapped behind — they had been left in the rear.”
“They couldn’t get out. There were bodies and people piled on top of them. Those trapped underneath were the unlucky ones, they stayed down there,” he added.
Desperate rush for exits and life jackets
Deniz Ozpolat was also onboard and described a desperate rush for the exits as passengers tried to find life jackets. He said: “We headed toward the exit. A crush of people had already formed. We couldn’t find the life jackets. They shut the doors on us and we couldn’t get out.
“They opened them later. We jumped into the water. The ship began to sink after listing to the side. We broke the windows and rescued people. There was a family out in the open water, there were children.”
Rescuers race to the scene
As passengers fought to stay alive in the water, rescuers raced towards the wreckage. Muhammed Ozcelik, who runs a water sports company, said his boat was among the first to arrive and began pulling people from the sea. He said: “We tried to do more than we could. People were saying ‘Take me too, take me too,’ but the capacity was full. We even took far more than (our capacity) … People were fighting for their lives.”
The ferry was owned by Filo Denizcilik, and all eight crew members were taken into custody after an investigation was launched. Unal Ustel, prime minister of northern Cyprus, vowed that those responsible would be held to account. He said: “Every aspect of this incident will be investigated,” he said. “Even the slightest negligence will be uncovered. Whoever is found to be at fault or responsible will not be spared.”
Turkish coast guard and military teams were assisting the rescue operation, with Mr Ustel describing the disaster as the worst maritime incident in Cypriot history.
