(Bloomberg) -- At least seven people died after a ferry carrying about 267 capsized while sailing from Kyrenia in northern Cyprus to Tasucu in southern Turkey, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Unal Ustel.
Of the 259 passengers and eight crew aboard the Turkiye, a high-speed Filo Jet ferry, 237 have been successfully rescued and brought ashore, Anadolu said. The search continues for 23 others.
Four Turkish Cypriot coast guard boats and a passenger vessel were quickly deployed to the scene, with a rescue helicopter sent as backup. Turkey’s coast guard dispatched five vessels and two helicopters, and six Turkish navel vessels were deployed as well.
Ustel and Erhan Arikli, minister for transport in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, have traveled to Kyrenia to oversee the rescue operations, the Nicosia-based Cyprus Mail reported.
The ferry began taking on water about 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) off the coast of Kyrenia, Arikli told the Turkish broadcaster NTV, adding that the cause was unclear.
The crossing of about 68 miles from Kyrenia to Tasucu takes about two hours on the high-speed vessel, and is pitched as a convenient option for commuters and holidaymakers.
Sunday’s incident was the latest in a string of ferry and small craft accidents in recent weeks.
In Guyana, murder charges were filed against the captain and two crew members of a state ferry that capsized in July, killing more than 70 people. At least 97 people drowned when an overcapacity government-run ferry sank this month on Lake Kariba, which borders Zimbabwe and Zambia.
A boat capsized in New York harbor near the Statue of Liberty this month, with a mother and five-month-old infant daughter drowned. The Coast Guard said the vessel had been over capacity, and the captain was arrested and charged with misconduct and neglect.
(Updates with new death toll, details of rescue operations and other recent incidents.)
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