Death toll from Filo Jet ferry disaster off Girne rises to 15

TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel announced that the body of another person who went missing in the Filo Jet ferry disaster has been found off Girne. The death toll has risen to 15, while 13 people remain missing.

Searches at sea are continuing. “Our state has mobilised all its capabilities from the very first minute,” Üstel said. He expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased.

The Filo Jet catamaran, which was operating the Girne—Taşucu route, capsized and sank on 30 August. There were 267 people on board: 259 passengers and 8 crew members. Most of them were rescued in the first few hours, while the search for the others has now entered its third week.

An investigation is also under way. The court in Girne previously extended the detention of nine suspects in the case; the investigation materials include crew correspondence about makeshift repairs to the vessel.

A five-member parliamentary commission is operating in the TRNC and will begin its hearings next week. It will examine the technical, administrative and judicial aspects of the disaster. According to MP Hasan Küçük, the hearings will be documented, and information will be openly communicated to the public.