30.08.2026 14:32
New footage has emerged from the passenger ship carrying 267 people that capsized off the coast of Girne, in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). In the images recorded by a passenger at the moment the ship, which had begun taking on water, was sinking, the cries of "We're sinking, everything is lost" echoing out revealed the extent of the panic that ensued.
New footage of the life-and-death struggle on the passenger ship that sank 4 miles off the coast of Kyrenia in the TRNC has come to light. In the seconds recorded by a passenger's mobile phone camera during the incident, the ship is seen sinking rapidly and chaos breaking out among the passengers. The words "We're sinking... Everything is gone," uttered in desperation by the passenger who took the footage, captured the horror of the moment second by second.
THE CAPTAIN'S U-TURN MANEUVER PROVED INSUFFICIENT
According to information in the Cypriot press, the disaster was triggered when the ship, while underway, began taking on heavy water from its stern section. The captain, noticing the danger, tried to turn the ship around and return with an emergency maneuver. However, as the water intake could not be stopped and balance was completely lost, this attempt failed, and the ship capsized within a short time.
MOBILIZATION FROM AIR AND SEA FOR 267 PEOPLE
Tünay Mertekçi, Press Advisor to the TRNC President, who shared details of the disaster, announced that there were 279 people on board the ship that departed from Taşucu at 12:00. Erhan Arıklı, the TRNC Minister of Public Works and Transport, also confirmed that search and rescue efforts were continuing uninterrupted. While rescue helicopters provided support from the air to the operations led by the Turkish Cypriot Civil Defense teams, private yachts and civilian boats in the region were mobilized from the sea to rescue the passengers.