7 killed and 23 missing after boat capsizes off northern Cyprus

Seven people have died after a passenger boat capsized near northern Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot PM says.

Search and rescue operations are under way to find 23 people missing, says Ünal Üstel, the prime minister of the self-declared territory, reports BBC.

He says 267 people were on board the vessel when it capsized, and 237 have been rescued.

The Turkish Interior Ministry says the boat began taking on water and "was in danger of sinking at a location 4 nautical miles off Kyrenia Port" - an image shows the boat on its side.