A family holiday turned into a nightmare off the coast of northern Cyprus. A ferry capsized on Sunday, killing eight people.
Twenty others remain missing, including two young siblings. Their mother described the heart-wrenching moment she lost her grip on her daughter.
A Mother’s Promise and a Desperate Grip
Ayten Bicer felt her 12-year-old daughter slip from her hands. She and her husband survived the disaster. They now wait in the port of Kyrenia for any news.
“She was saying, ‘Don’t let go’. And I didn’t let go of my daughter. I swear, I didn’t let her go,” Bicer told reporters through tears.
A suitcase fell on top of her, forcing her daughter from her grip. She grabbed the girl’s foot briefly. But the child’s shoes were coated in engine oil from the overturned vessel. She slipped through her hands.Â
“It was slippery everywhere. It was like oil. She slipped out of my hand,” she recalled.
A Family’s Unbearable Loss
The family was returning to Turkey after a holiday on the Mediterranean island. Ayten’s daughter Miray and six-year-old son Memhet Asaf are among the 20 missing.
“We couldn’t intervene, we lost our children,” Hayri Bicer said. “Two of my three children are gone. We left them. We are leaving them on this island as we go” .
The Disaster Unfolds
The ferry carried 259 passengers and eight crew members. It left the resort of Kyrenia for Turkey on Sunday. Severe storms delayed the trip from Saturday. Rough seas continued to churn. The vessel capsized just off the coast. Survivors clung to the overturned hull. Passing vessels and coastguards rescued them.
Eyewitness accounts say the ferry jolted violently. It slammed onto the sea surface. Part of its bow burst open on impact . The prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said two waves hit the boat. The captain tried to recover from the first. A second wave hit and it began taking on water. The boat is now completely sunk. It lies at a depth of 514 meters.
The Search for Answers Continues
Regrettably, nineteen passengers are still in hospital. A court ordered their detention for three days. Warrants have been issued for other people . A ship from Turkey will arrive to help with the search . Authorities are trying to recover the vessel’s black box. They hope to establish what happened . A three-day period of national mourning has begun.
The ferry sails under the flag of Turkey . The operating company, Filo Denizcilik, said it was “deeply saddened” . The TRNC controls the northern third of Cyprus. The island has been divided since 1974 .
A Mother’s Vigil
Ayten Bicer sat outside the port in Kyrenia on Monday. Her eyes were swollen from crying . She described the final moments she held her daughter. The girl’s shoes were covered in diesel. Everything was slippery. She slipped away. She also recounted her son Mehmet Asaf holding his father’s collar, shouting “Baba” (Dad) before he disappeared.Â
Indeed, this tragic event serves as a stark reminder of how quickly joy can turn to sorrow. Meanwhile, the families of the missing continue to wait for a miracle that grows less likely with each passing hour. At the same time, the maritime community and the people of Cyprus are in mourning for the lives lost and those still unaccounted for at sea.
