At least eight people have died and 18 were missing after a ferry carrying about 270 passengers and crew capsized off northern Cyprus on Sunday, leaving survivors clinging to its hulls.
The privately owned ferry left the port of Kyrenia at 12.30pm and immediately started taking on water for an unknown reason, authorities said. It was heading for the Turkish port of Tasucu in the eastern Mediterranean.
Survivors reported the ferry moving erratically, and its last hard impact with the water's surface broke the bow of the two-hulled vessel.
The disaster occurred just off the coast of Kyrenia, a popular holiday resort for locals and tourists. The ferry was one of several shuttle sea services that link northern Cyprus, a breakaway unrecognised Turkish Cypriot state, with Turkey each day.
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman told CNN Turk he was "deeply saddened" by the incident.
Video footage showed people in red life jackets sitting or standing on top of the overturned vessel as authorities sent coastguard and private vessels for assistance to bring them to shore.
“The vessel had been moving very badly. It was constantly lifting out of the water and slamming back down. It was shaking violently,” survivor Efe Multici told CNN Turk.
“Three or four minutes later, the ferry leapt high into the air, then came crashing down. The front left side burst open and water started pouring in.”
Turkish Cypriot authorities said the captain of the vessel and seven crew had been detained for questioning. By late afternoon, the ship had sunk, settling on the seabed at a depth of 514 metres. Divers from Turkey would be assisting the search, they said.
"If there are people still inside the vessel, reaching them does not appear easy at the moment," Mr Erhurman said. "Efforts are being made using other technologies to reach them as well."
Cyprus was battered by fierce storms on Saturday, with one person dying after his sailboat crashed on to rocks in rough seas in the island's south-east.
Asked about the cause of the capsize, Mr Erhurman noted the storm on Saturday but said the weather on Sunday was considered suitable for travel.
"There is a great sense of shock here. This is not something we have experienced before," he said, speaking at the crisis centre set up in the area.
North Cyprus is a breakaway state recognised only by Turkey, which supports the area economically and militarily.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan extended his condolences to the families affected. Expressions of condolence and offers of assistance also came from Cyprus's internationally recognised government.
Cyprus has been split along Greek and Turkish Cypriot lines since 1974, when Turkey invaded in response to a brief Greek-inspired coup.
