NICOSIA: The bodies of at least seven people were recovered off Cyprus on Monday after authorities mounted a search and rescue operation following the capsize of a boat carrying migrants, Cyprus’s state broadcaster said.

An unspecified number of individuals were believed to be missing, while two people were recovered alive from international waters about 30 nautical miles south-east of the island, the broadcaster said.

Other reports said the vessel, located around midday, was thought to have set off from Tartous in Syria with 20 or 21 people on board. Cyprus’s search and rescue coordination centre said assets were in the region coordinating a rescue operation, without mentioning casualties. The island, an EU member state, lies about 100 nautical miles west of Lebanon and Syria.

Public broadcaster CyBC reported that the ship sank four days ago with 21 people aboard. In an official statement by centre, the official agency carrying the search for the victims said the incident occurred within the country’s area of search and rescue responsibility but outside its territorial waters.

Several naval helicopters and police patrol boats were involved in the search for survivors, the centre said. According to the Cyprus News Agency, one survivor told authorities that the roughly 20 passengers on board were Syrians who had departed from the port of Tartus in Syria.

CyBC and the Philenews website also reported that seven bodies were recovered and two survivors rescued.

In the past, Cyprus had seen a four-fold spike in irregular arrivals by boat, almost all of them Syrians. The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus is less than 200 kilometres from the Syrian and Lebanese coasts and has long been a route for refugees seeking a better life in Europe.

Nicosia has said it has the highest number of new asylum seeker applicants in the European Union per capita, but has managed to significantly reduce the figure. Last month, the interior ministry said asylum applications dropped 69 per cent between 2022 and 2024, while irregular maritime arrivals had stopped since May 2024 due to tougher government policies.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2025