‘We lost our children’: Distraught parents reveal how kids, 12 & 6, slipped from their hands as ferry sank off Cyprus

THE DISTRAUGHT parents of two children lost in the Cyprus ferry disaster told how the youngsters slipped from their hands as the vessel turned turtle yesterday. Ayten and Hayri Bicer desperately clung to daughter Saliha, 12, and six year-old Mehmet as the ferry from Kyrenia in Turkish northern Cyprus capsized in rough seas on Sunday. Mum Ayten Bicer cries as she waits for updates on her two missing children Credit: Reuters The private ferry – carrying 259 passengers – capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus Credit: Reuters But the screaming pair slipped into the water as a suitcase fell onto Saliha and broke her mother’s grasp. And the pair were among 18 passengers still missing last night after eight victims were confirmed dead yesterday. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Hope faded yesterday that anyone would be found alive after divers were sent to locate the sunken wreck. The couple’s ten year-old son Halil was rescued alongside them. Mum Ayten told of her vain battle to hang on to her daughter yesterday after being ferried back to shore with survivors in Kyrenia. Ayten sobbed: “She was saying, ‘Don’t let go’. And I didn’t let go of my daughter. I swear, I didn’t let her go.” The mum said a suitcase fell on her daughter and broke her grasp as the boat, bound for the Turkish mainland, overturned after being hit by two waves. Ayten said she managed to grab hold of her daughter’s foot in the chaos, but the youngster’s shoes had been coated in engine oil leaking from the engine and she lost her grip. Most read in The Sun Parents Ayten Bicer and Hayri Bicer weep as they recall their young kids slipping out of their grasp Credit: Reuters Survivors wait to be rescued atop the capsized vessel Credit: AP She wept: “It was slipping like oil, there ‌was diesel, our feet were slippery. It was slippery everywhere…. she slipped out ‌of my hand.” The double-hulled ferry – with 267 aboard – took on water and flipped over on Sunday just off the port city of Kyrenia leaving survivors clinging to the ⁠overturned hull. Ayten’s traumatised husband Hayri, said everything happened suddenly and he was unable to hold on to his son Mehmet. He said: “We couldn’t intervene. We lost our children. We made a lot of effort but we couldn’t save our children. “Two of my children are gone. One of my sons is alive. We left them. We are leaving them on this island as we go.” The captain and crew of a ferry have been held after the sea tragedy. Ünal Üstel, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Turkish republic on Cyprus, said the ferry had been carrying 259 passengers and eight crew when it began taking on water. Authorities said the ship’s captain and seven crew members have been detained as part of an investigation. Horrifying footage shows passengers fighting to stay afloat Credit: Instagram Passengers fiddle with lifejackets after clambering back ont top of the capsized boat Credit: Kibris Gazetesi The boat later sank and hope was fading that any more survivors would be found as efforts focused on recovering its black box data recorder. Mr Üstel said the boat had been scheduled to travel to Turkey on Saturday, but had been delayed due to poor weather conditions. British-Turkish Cypriot nationals were reported to be among those on board but the UK Foreign Office said they had not been asked to assist yesterday as inquiries continued. A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are liaising with local authorities following a ferry incident in northern Cyprus. “We have not been approached for consular support on this case, but staff stand ready to support British nationals overseas.” Comment now