Ayten Biçer has described how her 14-year-old daughter and six-year-old son disappeared amid fuel-covered waters after a passenger vessel capsized off Kyrenia.
Saliha Miray and Mehmet Asaf were among those reported missing after the ship, which was travelling from Kyrenia to Taşucu, overturned.
Daughter separated during capsizing
Biçer told Reuters that her daughter held tightly to her as the vessel began to sink.
“She kept telling me, ‘Don’t let me go.’ And I did not let go of my daughter’s hand. I swear I did not,” she said through tears.
Amid the chaos, a suitcase struck Miray and separated her from her mother. Biçer managed to grab her daughter’s leg, but the child’s shoes were covered in oil and fuel leaking from the overturned vessel.
“She slipped from my hands,” Biçer said.
She described the surface of the sea and the objects around them as being coated in oil and diesel, making rescue efforts extremely difficult.
“Everything was slippery, as if it were covered in oil. There was diesel, and our feet were slipping. It was slippery everywhere. She slipped from my hand,” she said.
Family waits for news
Reuters reported that Biçer remained outside Kyrenia port on Monday, waiting for any information from the authorities about her children. Her eyes were swollen from continuous crying.
Speaking about Mehmet Asaf, she said the boy had tried to hold on to his father during the final moments before he disappeared.
“Mehmet Asaf was holding on to his father here,” she said, pointing to the collar of her shirt. “He was shouting, ‘Dad.’”
Her husband, Hayri Biçer, told Reuters that everything happened within seconds and that the family had done everything it could to save the children.
“We tried very hard, but we could not save our children. Two of my three children are missing,” he said.
The family continues to await information from the authorities about the two children.
