8 dead after ferry carrying 267 passengers capsizes off Cyprus, officials say
The ferry was traveling to Turkey when the incident occurred.
LONDON -- A ferry carrying 267 people capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the northern coast of Cyprus on Sunday, local officials said, with at least eight people reported killed.
Search and rescue operations continued to find 18 missing people, Tufan Erhurman, president of Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, told ABC News, adding that 241 people had been rescued.
Authorities in the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus announced a three-day national mourning period starting Monday, according to state media.
The ferry, named Filojet, was traveling from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, in the breakaway north of divided Cyprus to the Turkish port of Tasucu in Mersin province when it capsized. Filo Denizcilik, the Turkish shipping company that operates the ferry, told ABC News that a distress call was received at about 11:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. local time when the ship was about 4 kilometers from the coast.
The Turkish Interior Ministry said that four Northern Cyprus coast guard vessels and a passenger ship were deployed to the area, along with five Turkish Coast Guard Command vessels and two helicopters.
Six Turkish navy vessels were also dispatched to the area, the ministry said.
"Search and rescue operations are being meticulously carried out in coordination among the relevant units," it added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News' Rashid Haddou and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.