01.09.2026 14:01
Mehmet Tuğa, the friend of Nihat Balyemez who lost his life in the passenger ship that sank off the coast of Kyrenia in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, described the horrifying moments. Tuğa said, 'Cracking sounds started coming from the front of the ship again. A section began to break off, and the ship started taking on water again. At that moment, there was great panic.'
Mehmet Tuğa, the friend of Nihat Balyemez, who lost his life in the passenger ship that sank off the coast of Girne in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recounted the moments of horror. Tuğa said, "Cracking sounds started coming from the front of the ship again. A section began to break off, and the ship started taking on water again. At that moment, there was great panic."
"WE ASKED HIM TO SLOW DOWN, HE SAID 'IF WE SLOW DOWN, YOU WILL HEAR LOUDER SOUNDS'" Describing how the ship sank, Mehmet Tuğa said, "We had gone to my summer house in Mersin. We went there on Friday. We were supposed to depart at 10:00 AM on Sunday for the return, but the departure time was postponed to 12:00. About 3-5 minutes after the ship set off, water began to come in from the lower part. Then cracking and very loud noises were heard. Everyone panicked greatly. Some of the passengers got up from their seats and tried to turn back. At that time, we asked the crew if there was a problem with the ship. They answered us, 'There's nothing wrong; we use this route all the time.' After a while, we asked the captain to reduce his speed. However, we were told, 'If we reduce the speed, you will feel more shaking and hear worse sounds'" he said.
"WHEN A SECTION OF THE SHIP BEGAN TO BREAK APART..." Stating that cracking sounds then came from the front of the ship, Tuğa said, "Cracking sounds started coming from the front of the ship again. A section began to break off, and the ship started taking on water again. At that moment, there was great panic. Everyone started looking for life jackets. They said, 'Get on deck.' People were trying to go up, pushing and helping each other. We also found our life jackets. Our location was right in front of the captain's bridge. Since we were at the very front, life jackets were there. All three of us took our life jackets, put them over our shoulders, and headed towards the deck. Our friend Ahmet called out to us, 'Come forward, help.' While trying to move forward, I hit something and fell back, rolling. Brother Nihat was right behind me. At that moment, I saw a woman and a child around 3-4 years old. I asked, 'Where are they?' They said someone had gone to look for them. Meanwhile, a man above was shouting to us through the window, saying his wife and daughter were missing. The window was broken. They were trying to bring the children up. Brother Nihat was nowhere to be seen. We saw Brother Ahmet jump into the sea. He was also calling out to me, but because of a problem with my leg, I had to wait on the deck" he said.
"THE YOUNG FEMALE SECOND OFFICER TOOK CARE OF EVERYONE" Mehmet Tuğa, saying it is very difficult to describe what happened at that moment, stated, "People were trying to save their lives, and everyone was helping each other. There was a young woman inside the ship who was the second officer. That lady took care of everyone throughout the journey. She never left our side. She tried to calm people down and help them. She was also told to go to the captain to get information about the ship's condition. She went to the captain, and when she returned, she said there was no problem" he expressed.
HIS DECEASED FRIEND CALLED OUT "WE WON'T GET OUT" Tuğa, narrating how he saved himself by holding onto something after slipping and rolling, said, "Brother Nihat was also trying to get off the ship. I remember he said, 'We won't get out.' While I slipped and rolled, I tried to hold onto something and pull myself to a safe spot. When we came back a few minutes later, we couldn't see Brother Nihat. Only that woman and child were there. Brother Nihat had fled towards the front of the ship. There was a lot of water on that side too. There, we saw a person slip and hit their head somewhere. We later learned that Brother Nihat lost his life at that moment. We think the life jacket might have somehow carried him out. Later, we went to the hospital and went through the identification procedures. Unfortunately, we learned that we had lost our brother Nihat. May God have mercy on him. May He give patience to his family and children. We truly experienced a great loss. We lost a very valuable person" he said.
"EVERY POSSIBLE MEANS WAS PROVIDED FOR US TO RETURN SAFELY" Describing the process after being rescued, Mehmet Tuğa said, "Later, we saw the interest shown by our state after the incident. May God not let our state fail. They took us to hospitals for health checks. We were transferred to military hospitals, then hosted in hotels in the best way. Our tickets were arranged, and every possible means was provided for us to return to our homeland safely. I thank all the institutions of our state" he stated.