The catamaran-style ferry was traveling from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, in the breakaway north of ethnically divided Cyprus to the Turkish port of Tasucu in Mersin province.
At least six people have died in the disaster, Turkish media reported. Unal Ustel, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), said the vessel had been carrying a total of 267 people when it rolled over shortly after leaving port, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu.
Ustel added that 172 people had so far been rescued and that operations were continuing to evacuate the remaining passengers and crew, Anadolu said
The privately owned ferry left the North Cyprus port of Kyrenia at 12.30pm local time (0930 GMT) and immediately started taking on water for an unknown reason, Anadolu reported.
Authorities say several people have died after a ferry accident off northern Cyprus.
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The ferry started taking in water a few kilometres (miles) off the coast, the Turkish state-run TRT news channel reported.
Northern Cyprus Transportation Minister Erhan Arikli told TRT that the ship had overturned and that rescue crews were already on the scene.
Several companies run ferries on the busy route between Kyrenia and Tasucu. It is not yet known which company was operating the ferry that capsized.
Video footage from the scene shows people with life-vests floating in the waters around the capsized vessel.
Erdogan set to visit northern Cyprus
The TRNC, which is recognised only by Turkey, controls the northern third of the island of Cyprus, which has been divided since 1974.
Ankara occupied that part of the island that year in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup seeking union with Greece. The TRNC today is served with regular air and sea links to Turkey.
“All necessary preparations are being made for a swift response from rescue and health services,” the TRNC’s health ministry said in a statement.
It added that hospitals in the territory had been alerted, so they could provide any medical attention that might be needed.
The TRNC is dependent on Turkey, and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said on X that “we are providing all necessary assistance to the search and rescue operations”.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to visit the TRNC on Monday to see its president, Tufan Erhurmann, who was elected by the territory’s voters in October.
The visit would be Erdogan’s first since 2023.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
This story originally appeared on France24
