FILO JET, operated and owned by Filo Denizcilik, was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew according to Turkey's Interior Ministry. TRNC Minister of Public Works and Transport Erhan Arikli said the vessel had been around four nautical miles off Kyrenia when it began taking on water. Ustel said the crossing had originally been due to sail on Saturday but was postponed to Sunday because of weather conditions.

Kyrenia mayor Murat Senkul said the vessel went down off Diana Beach on the TRNC's northern coast. Witnesses said some passengers jumped into the sea as the ferry began listing before it capsized.

A large-scale rescue operation was launched, involving four TRNC Coast Guard vessels, a passenger vessel and two Coast Guard helicopters, Turkey's Interior Ministry said, alongside numerous civilian boats that joined the effort. Survivors were brought ashore at Kyrenia port by helicopter and boat and transferred to hospitals across the TRNC according to their condition, with ambulances dispatched in large numbers to the harbour.

The cause of the capsizing has not yet been officially established.

The Kyrenia-Tasucu crossing is one of the principal maritime links between Northern Cyprus and mainland Turkey, served by several operators running both fast catamaran ferries and conventional RoPax vessels.

Shippax will provide further updates as more details emerge.

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