New technical capabilities and alternative methods will be deployed in efforts to locate people still missing following the sinking of the Filo Jet off the coast of Kyrenia, Turkish Cypriot “Prime Minister” Ünal Üstel has said.
In a statement, Üstel said five of those reported missing had so far been located during search and rescue operations following the sinking.
Thirteen people have died and 15 remain missing, according to the statement.
Underwater operation becoming more difficult
Üstel said work underwater and inside the sunken vessel was becoming increasingly difficult.
For this reason, he said, new technical capabilities and alternative methods would be used alongside the existing search operations.
“We have only one goal: to find all our missing people,” he said.
Üstel said new initiatives had been launched to locate those still missing and continue operations inside the sunken vessel.
As part of those efforts, technical personnel from private organisations with experience in deep-water wreck recovery and ship salvage operations had inspected the accident site and the wreck.
Üstel to assess preliminary reports in Istanbul
Üstel said he would travel to Istanbul on Monday to assess preliminary reports prepared by the teams involved.
During his stay in Istanbul, he will also meet private organisations to discuss the next steps for locating the missing people, continuing work inside the vessel and recovering the wreck.
He is also due to meet senior officials from the ship's insurance company.
Talks planned in Ankara
Following his meetings in Istanbul, Üstel will travel to Ankara for high-level discussions.
The talks will focus on the current situation, the reports prepared by the teams and possible next steps.
Üstel said that after returning to the occupied areas of Cyprus, he would present the roadmap for the next phase to the families of those still missing and to the public.
He stressed that all available resources would be used.
“We will leave no room for doubt, no question such as, ‘Could we have done this too?’” he said, adding that all available technical capabilities and new methods would be fully deployed alongside existing resources.
According to the statement, teams operating from the air, sea, underwater and on land continue their work without interruption.
The information was reported by Yeni Düzen.
