At least 12 people have been confirmed dead, and others are still missing following a ferry accident in Northern Cyprus.

A ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers capsized in Northern Cyprus on Sunday.

Unal Ustel, the prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, announced the casualty count on X on Friday.

He stated that following the maritime accident that occurred off the coast of Girne, the remains of two more citizens have been recovered during the ongoing search operations.

According to him, it has been determined that both of the remains recovered as a result of the search activities conducted by their ships TCG IŞIN and TCG ALEMDAR, affiliated with the Turkish Naval Forces, in deep waters are those of women.

Mr Ustel said the police have begun identity verification efforts.

“With the recovery of these two remains, the number of our citizens who lost their lives in the accident has risen to 12.

“In order to reach our 16 missing citizens, our search activities continue without interruption on a 7-days-24-hours basis with the strong support of the Republic of Türkiye and the participation of all relevant units,” he stated.

Mr Ustel thanked the Republic of Türkiye, the Turkish Naval Forces Command and Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, the Turkish Peace Force Command, and the Security Forces Command for their support.

“All our teams involved in the search operations will continue their work with the same determination and sensitivity to reach our missing citizens,” he said.