An “expert team” from Turkey will visit Cyprus to conduct an investigation into the sinking of a passenger ferry off the coast of Kyrenia in August, while another “expert” from a Turkish university will also examine the incident, it was heard in court on Friday.
According to newspaper Yeniduzen, the announcement was made during the latest hearing of the nine people who were arrested in the accident’s aftermath, with it also being stated that a naval engineer had examined parts of the wreckage which had been brought ashore or washed up after the disaster, “and made some observations accordingly”.
In addition, it was stated that all nine suspects – the boat’s captain, Mustafa Oz, seven other members of the boat’s crew, and one director of its operating company, Filo Denizcilik – have now undergone psychiatric evaluations at the Baris mental and nervous diseases hospital in Nicosia, and that “reports will be provided” on their mental states.
Recordings from the boat’s black box are ongoing, with it being said in court that a total of 32 days of recordings have been examined, and that 34 days remain to be reviewed.
Crew members had suggested that boat ‘may sink’
New evidence from those recordings was presented on Friday, with conversations between crew members suggesting that the boat “may sink” being brought to the court’s attention.
Additionally, it was stated that on a previous voyage, some passengers had entered the captain’s cabin and asked him to turn back to port, saying that they were frightened due to the state of the boat.
At the end of the day’s proceedings, all nine suspects were remanded in custody for a further seven days. They will next appear in court on October 30.
The ferry sank shortly after midday on August 30, after having set sail from the new port of Kyrenia to the Turkish port of Tasucu with 259 passengers and eight members of crew on board. A total of 27 people are confirmed to have died as a result of the incident, while one passenger – three-year-old Anni Asel Hilaloglu – remains unaccounted for.