At least 8 dead, 17 missing after ferry capsizes off Northern Cyprus

At least eight people have died after a ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers and crew capsized off the coast of the breakaway north of ethnically divided Cyprus on Sunday, Turkish media reported.

Unal Ustel, the north’s Turkish Cypriot prime minister, told Turkish state broadcaster TRT that 237 people have so far been rescued. A search is under way for another 22 people, officials said.

Ustel said the ferry faced adverse weather and began taking on water just 15 minutes after departure.

A call for help was issued soon after, he said. Police detained eight people - including the ferry captain - as part of an investigation into the sinking, according to Ustel.

Images broadcast by Turkish television showed the upside-down ferry in the water, with people wearing life vests atop its orange hull.

The cause was not yet established but one rescued passenger told local media a blast went off at the bow of the ferry before it rolled over