The Filo Jet shipwreck off Kyrenia has left 14 people officially dead and another 14 missing, as search operations continue and calls for an investigation into the disaster grow.
Mustafa Kemal Yarali, whose body was the last to be recovered from the sunken vessel, was buried in Mersin on Wednesday.
The last body was recovered from the Filo Jet wreck site on August 7, while authorities continue efforts to locate the 14 people still missing.
Search operations continue
Search operations are continuing with the Turkish Navy vessel Isin. The Alemdar has returned to port for routine technical maintenance and refuelling.
Another specialised vessel equipped with technology designed for operations at greater depths was due to depart Istanbul on Thursday. It is expected to reach the wreck site and begin operations over the weekend or early next week.
Turkish Cypriot leader Unal Ustel visited the coordination centre at Kyrenia port after holding talks in Ankara and returning to the occupied north.
“Our goal is clear: to find the missing,” Ustel said while also meeting relatives who continue to wait at the port for news.
He acknowledged that the depth of the sea, conditions in the area and the state of the wreck have made the search operations particularly challenging.
“However, we are continuing our work with determination, expanding our capabilities and activating new technical capabilities,” he said.
Calls for an investigation
An extraordinary session is under way in the Turkish Cypriot “parliament” to discuss the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiry into the causes of the shipwreck.
Two proposals have reportedly been submitted, by the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and the National Unity Party (UBP).
Mother of victim calls for justice
Meryem Kurt, the mother of Ismail Kurt, whose body was the first to be recovered from the sunken catamaran, told Yeni Düzen that she did not believe the shipwreck was an accident and called for everyone responsible to face justice.
Ismail Kurt had been travelling to Turkey to visit his older brother, who was suffering from stage-four cancer. He lived in the occupied north of Cyprus and worked as a security guard.
“I will pursue this case to the end. Let justice prevail and let everyone responsible be brought to justice,” his mother said.
She said she last spoke to her son about an hour before the vessel departed. He told her he was going to Turkey, and she recalled telling him to have a safe journey.
Meryem Kurt said she wished they had spoken for longer.
“People are waiting and crying at the port,” she said, expressing hope that the missing would soon be reunited with their families.
Erhürman warns against xenophobia
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman spoke out against xenophobia and racism in a social media post on Thursday.
Commenting on calls to “avoid politics” following major tragedies, Erhürman said the real question was not whether politics should be discussed, but “what kind of politics” should be pursued.
He warned that certain words can deepen pain and suffering on both sides, arguing that societies risk losing not only people but also their humanity and culture.
Erhürman criticised what he described as the rise of “populist radical right” politics and xenophobia and racism in Europe and elsewhere.
He referred to questions and comments about the victims of the maritime tragedy focusing on who they were, where they came from and what work they did.
Erhürman also raised concerns over the lack of a population census in the north and what he described as immigration without sufficient planning or calculation.
However, he stressed that none of these issues justified dividing people based on nationality, place of birth or any other characteristic, nor did they legitimise xenophobia or racism.
He said Turkish Cypriot culture had so far protected the community from such attitudes.
Also read: Kyrenia shipwreck: New search operation launched for missing persons
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