Filo Jet Ferry Capsizes off Cyprus With 267 on Board, Crew Charged

The high-speed catamaran ferry Filo Jet capsized off the north coast of Cyprus on Sunday afternoon with 267 people on board, ending a scheduled two-hour crossing that had left Girne at midday for the Turkish port of Tasucu.

The 40.5-metre vessel was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew when it began taking on water shortly after departure. The master issued a distress call and the ferry rolled onto her side roughly four nautical miles from shore. A government report, so far unconfirmed, places the wreck in about 514 metres of water.

Rescue units were on scene within 15 to 20 minutes of the call. Four coast guard vessels and the passenger ship Akgunler 3 took part in the recovery, supported by five further craft, two coast guard helicopters from Turkey and six navy vessels. A total of 237 people were taken from the water alive and eight bodies were brought ashore. The search for the remainder continued into Monday.

The captain and seven crew were taken into custody at the quayside. They appeared the following day, together with a director of the operator, Filo Denizcilik, before a court in northern Cyprus on charges of causing death through negligence and carelessness. The court ordered a further seven people wanted on the same suspicion to be produced.

Survivors said they heard loud noises from below decks before the vessel began to list, and that crew members who went to look described the flooding as coming from a loose gasket. Several passengers stated that escape routes were obstructed and that emergency exits were locked, accounts that now form part of the investigation.

Investigators are examining whether the ferry struck an object in the water. A dive vessel has been sent to the site to recover the voyage data recorder, which will carry the machinery and steering record for the minutes between departure and the loss of stability.

Sailings had been suspended on the Saturday because of weather, and conditions on the Sunday were assessed as acceptable for the crossing. The port officials who cleared the departure have since been dismissed, and the transport ministry has suspended all operations by Filo Denizcilik pending the outcome of the inquiry.