A body was recovered in the search for those missing from the passenger ship “Filo Jet,” which sank off Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus, on 30 August; DNA testing has been launched for identification. The bodies found over the weekend were identified as belonging to 5-year-old Mehmet Asaf Biçer and Nihat Pancar. While the death toll in the incident has risen to 18, search efforts continue for 10 missing people.
Why it matters
The DNA testing launched for the newly recovered body shows that the official toll from the incident will not be finalized until the identification process is completed. The identification of the two bodies found over the weekend partially reduces the uncertainty in the list of missing people, while also showing that search efforts are continuing not only to determine the number of victims but also to establish who they are. Although the number of people who lost their lives has reached 18, the fact that 10 people are still missing means that the full consequences of the accident have not yet emerged. Therefore, while the latest development shows that search teams are continuing their work and that the incident is not closed with regard to all those missing, it leaves open the question of when the identifications will be completed.