Captain and crew arrested after at least eight die in northern Cyprus ferry disaster – as it happened

An estimated 237 people have been rescued but 18 are missing after accident off the coast of northern Cyprus Fatalities after ferry carrying nearly 270 capsizes off northern Cyprus Here are the main updates from the last few hours: The death toll has risen to “at least 8”, with 18 people still missing. Ünal Üstel, the north’s Turkish Cypriot prime minister, told Turkish state broadcaster TRT that 237 people have so far been rescued. Survivors have described a blast which went off at the vessel’s bow before the catamaran-style ship rolled over. The captain and seven other crew members have been arrested and are in custody The captain was allegedly among the first to abandon ship, according to witnesses who spoke to local media. The boat was sailing from the port of Kyrenia, in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, to the port of Taşucu in Turkey, when the disaster occurred about 4 nautical miles (7.5km) off the coast. Three children rescued from the sea were in intensive care on Sunday. The ferry has “completely sunk to a depth of 514 metres (1,686 feet)”, according to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ transport minister Ünal Üstel, the n