14 PEOPLE DETAINED OVER FERRY SINKING

NICOSIA, AUGUST 31 /SRNA – RIA Novosti/ – A court in Cyprus has ordered the detention of 14 suspects in connection with the ferry capsizing, which killed eight people, including the captain, crew members and employees of the Filo Denizcilik Company.

According to survivors’ testimonies, the captain of the sunken ferry was among the first to abandon the vessel, with one sailor personally taking him ashore in a lifeboat.

Two survivors said that the captain ignored passengers’ pleas to turn the ferry back when it began taking on water, after which the crew hurriedly abandoned the vessel.

Cypriot authorities have declared three days of mourning following the sinking, which killed at least eight people. The search for 18 missing people is still underway.