Grave allegation regarding the captain of the capsized ship confirmed!

Search and rescue operations are ongoing for 18 missing people after a passenger ship capsized while departing from the city of Kyrenia in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) for the Port of Taşucu in Mersin. Following the accident, claims by some passengers that the captain and crew were the first to abandon the ship have sparked controversy.

Captain Mustafa Koç, who participated in the search and rescue efforts in the region, stated that he brought the first and second captains ashore on his own boat at the time of the accident. Speaking to NTV, when asked, “Did the captain inside the ship abandon it first?” Koç replied, “He did. I even picked up the captain. He was with me.”

While Koç used the expression, “The first and second captains were with me,” he responded to a question about whether he had the opportunity to speak with the captain by saying, “It was risky to talk amidst that many people.”

Explaining that he was at the marina in Kyrenia during the accident, Koç stated that he set out to sea with his commercial boat after receiving a message. Reporting that he saw the ship turned on its side after traveling for about 45 minutes, Koç said there were 80-90 people on the ship and that they took approximately 60-65 people and brought them to the tourism port.

Stating that the survivors were in a state of panic and fear, Koç noted that they distributed water to the people they took onto the boat, adding, “Everyone was alert except for three or four people. All the people I brought were adults.”

Mustafa Koç also made assessments regarding the condition of the ship. Stating that the ship was old, Koç alleged that there was a section on its left side that had previously undergone repairs. Koç used the expressions, “This ship had sustained damage before. It stayed on land for five years. Later, they repaired the spot where it was hit. The reason it sank also stems from that hit area.”

News Source: 12punto