Seven people have reportedly died after a passenger ship capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus on Sunday.
The vessel, which was reportedly sailing from Kyreneia in Cyprus to the Turkish port of Taşucu, sank at around midday.
Turkey's Interior Ministry said 259 passengers and eight crew members were on board the vessel when it began taking on water roughly 6 km off the coast of Kyreneia.
Murat Senkul, the mayor of Kyreneia, described the situation as "very serious" in a post on Facebook, adding that a rescue operation was under way.
Speaking to CNN Turk, Tufan Erhürman, the president of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, said: "So far, we have reached 244 people. Seven of those reached have lost their lives, and 23 people are missing."
