Girne: Turkish authorities announced the recovery of 12 bodies and the ongoing search for 16 missing persons following the sinking of the passenger ship Velio Jet off the coast of northern Cyprus. Turkish naval forces are conducting intensive search and rescue operations in the area to locate the missing individuals and retrieve the black box of the sunken vessel.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the ground search operations are continuing around the clock, involving nine ships and eleven aircraft, including the Turkish search and rescue vessels TCG Esen and TCG Alemdar. The search operations on the seabed are being conducted using unmanned robotic systems launched from the TCG Alemdar to a depth of 554 meters.

In the initial phase, the TCG Esen’s robotic system surveyed the area where the ship sank and identified points of entry to the wreck. Fifteen highly skilled divers from the ship’s 60-member crew are participating in the operations. Robotic diving operations are also being carried out using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capable of safely capturing and recovering lost items and sunken objects. The ROV can dive to a depth of 1,000 meters and retrieve payloads of up to 135 kilograms from the sea. It is equipped with thermal imaging cameras and can also be used for photography.

A dynamic positioning system is helping maintain the ship’s safe position in challenging sea conditions, enabling safe underwater operations. The recovery of the bodies of those missing from the sunken vessel, at a depth of 554 meters, has also begun using robots controlled from the TCG Alemdar vessel, deployed to the area last Wednesday.

The 4,200-ton TCG Alemdar, equipped with a platform for ambulance helicopters, continues its operations, utilizing dynamic positioning systems and sonar to support its primary missions. Last Sunday, the Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, œnal œstl, announced the rescue of 237 people and the deaths of seven others in the sinking of the ship, which was carrying 267 people from a Cypriot port to Mersin in southern Turkey.

œstl stated in a press conference that the passenger ship, belonging to a private company, had departed from the Cypriot port of Girne bound for Tasucu port in Mersin province, southern Turkey, and was carrying 267 people, including 259 passengers and eight crew members.