A ferry travelling from northern Cyprus to Turkey capsized on Sunday after being struck by rough seas, killing at least eight people and leaving around 20 more missing. Footage from inside the sinking vessel shows passengers screaming as they scrambled through its interior to escape, while other clips show survivors clinging to one another and to the overturned hull in the water as a rescue helicopter searched overhead. The captain, seven crew members and a shareholder in the ferry operator have been arrested and charged with negligent homicide, after survivors alleged the captain ignored early warnings that the vessel was taking on water.

The double-hulled Filo Jet catamaran, carrying 267 people, left the port of Kyrenia just before noon when passengers noticed it was flooding and urged the captain to turn back, but the ferry continued towards Tasucu in Turkey. According to the northern Cyprus prime minister, the vessel was struck by one wave and then a second as the captain tried to regain control, causing it to flood and eventually flip over amid rough seas from a storm that had hit the region the previous day. Survivors described a shortage of lifejackets and harrowing scenes, including a mother, Ayten Bicer, who said her 12-year-old daughter slipped from her grasp in the water; the girl and her six-year-old brother were among those still missing as search teams combed waters over 500 metres deep.