Cyprus ferry survivors declare captain ignored warnings and deserted sinking ship
Terrifying footage showed the horror moment panicked ferry passengers scrambled to get lifejackets before the vessel went down, with screams and cries for help heard in the frantic clip.
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Survivors of the Cyprus ferry disaster that left eight dead have accused the captain of ignoring their warnings and then abandoning the ship as it sank.
Terrifying footage showed the horror moment panicked ferry passengers scrambled to get lifejackets before the vessel went down, with screams and cries for help heard in the frantic clip.
Chaos broke out below deck as the boat started to take on water, with women, men and children seen desperately pulling the bright orange vests around their heads before making a run for the emergency exits.
Another 18 people remain missing after the ferry packed with 267 people capsized just off the port city of Kyrenia on Sunday with a source saying a number of dual citizens holding British and Cypriot passports are likely to have been on board.
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The captain, seven crew members and a shareholder in the company operating the ferry were arrested and appeared in court on Monday.
Survivors have claimed the captain ignored warnings that the Filo Jet vessel was taking on water before abandoning ship as it capsized after it “hit freak waves”.
Shortly after the doomed Turkey-bound craft departed from Kyrenia just before 12pm on Sunday, passengers realised that there was a problem and warned the captain and crew that they needed to return to port but their pleas fell on deaf ears.
The boat was struck by one wave before a second hit as the captain tried to regain control, causing the ferry to begin taking on water, according to northern Cyprus prime minister Ünal Üstel.
He added that the ship’s captain and seven crew members were detained as part of an investigation into “how this tragedy occurred” and authorities are also attempting to recover the ferry’s black box recorder to establish what happened.
People react as they await news of their loved ones (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
One unnamed rescued passenger in his 50s told local Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) television he spent an hour-and-a-half in the water before being rescued.
He said the front of the boat “exploded” and the side windows “blew out” as the boat took on more and more water and claimed that he saw the captain among the first to abandon ship “without organising anything”.
Another witness in his 30s corroborated reports of an explosion and said he had reported water leaks to the skipper.
He added: “The seats started to float, the captain kept going, and the bow exploded.”
Heartbroken passenger Ayten Bicer said her 12-year-old daughter Miray slipped from her hands and disappeared and she and her six-year-old son Mehmet Asaf were among those missing yesterday as search teams scoured waters more than 1,640ft deep.
