A major search involving naval helicopters and police boats was underway on Monday for the passengers of a migrant boat that capsized off the coast of Cyprus, officials said.
Cypriot media reported that the authorities had recovered seven bodies and two survivors from the boat, which had departed from Syria.
Public broadcaster CyBC reported that the ship sank four days ago with 21 people aboard.
A large-scale search and rescue operation was launched in open waters by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Larnaca.
In an official statement, it said the search was “ongoing to locate missing persons after a migrant boat capsized 30 nautical miles (55 kilometres) southeast of Cape Greco”, referring to the southeasternmost point of the Mediterranean island.
It said the incident occurred within the country’s area of search and rescue responsibility but outside its territorial waters.
The authorities had yet to confirm the recovery of any bodies and when contacted by AFP, the JRCC only referred to the statement, saying the operation was ongoing.
Police referred inquiries to the JRCC, which is coordinating the rescue.
Several naval helicopters and police patrol boats were involved in the search for survivors, the centre said.
According to the Cyprus News Agency, one survivor told authorities that the roughly 20 passengers on board were Syrians who had departed from the port of Tartus in Syria.
CyBC and the Philenews website reported that seven bodies were recovered and two survivors rescued.
In the past, Cyprus had seen a four-fold spike in irregular arrivals by boat, almost all of them Syrians.
The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus is less than 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the Syrian and Lebanese coasts and has long been a route for refugees seeking a better life in Europe.
Nicosia has said it has the highest number of new asylum seeker applicants in the European Union per capita, but has managed to significantly reduce the figure.
Last month, the interior ministry said asylum applications dropped 69 per cent between 2022 and 2024, while irregular maritime arrivals had stopped since May 2024 due to tougher government policies.
In September, Human Rights Watch accused the Cypriot government of pushing Syrian migrants back to Lebanon “without regard to their refugee status or risk of being expelled to Syria”.
The overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in December has prompted some Syrians to go back, with the government reporting that an average of 40 Syrians per day had requested to return home since then.
The government also said that more asylum seekers were leaving Cyprus than arriving for the first time in its independent history.
Source: AFP
