Search and rescue operations by sea and air are continuing to find 18 people missing from the “Filo Jet,” a high-speed passenger ferry that capsized off Girne in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Ships, boats, aircraft, UAVs and helicopters belonging to Turkey and the TRNC, as well as divers and underwater teams, are taking part in the operations.
Of the 267 people on board, 241 were rescued, while 8 people lost their lives. The Crisis Desk established at Girne Port is coordinating the search efforts.
Why it matters
The continuation of the search efforts shows that the humanitarian dimension of the incident has not yet been resolved and that the status of the missing people remains uncertain. The joint use of maritime and air assets, divers and underwater teams indicates that the search is being conducted across a wide area and under different conditions. The Crisis Desk at Girne Port, meanwhile, is ensuring that the activities of teams belonging to Turkey and the TRNC are coordinated from a single center. At this stage, the key open questions for the public are whether the 18 missing people can be reached and when the search operations will conclude; the information currently available does not yet provide an answer on this issue.
Background
The TRNC is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we published a news report in which this name appeared in the past 90 days; that article was dated August 31, 2026.