Survivors of a ferry disaster off the coast of northern Cyprus described on Monday the moments of terror as they scrambled to escape the sinking vessel. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.

Rescue teams searched for 18 people missing since the ship carrying 267 passengers and crew capsized after leaving Kyrenia, a port in breakaway northern Cyprus, for Tasucu in Turkey on Sunday afternoon.

Serkan Kunduraci, who escaped the sinking ferry by hauling himself through a broken window, said he saw children and others drowning in the sea some 7.5 kilometers (4 nautical miles) off the Cypriot coast. He told the DHA news agency: "I saw some who didn't know how to swim die in the sea. There were those who, in a panic, didn't grab life jackets. Some jumped (into the sea) immediately out of fear. There was an old man, we couldn't get him. We tried to pull him up, but we couldn't. He drowned too. We saw and witnessed a family's children, boys and girls, very young children, drowning."

Survivors told how the ferry began listing and taking on water after they heard a number of loud noises from below decks. Kunduraci said: "The crew came, took a look and told us there wasn't a major problem, just a loose gasket causing a leak." When the order to evacuate came, people were already panicking. The ship began tilting as the captain apparently made an effort to return to Kyrenia, known as Girne in Turkish.

Kunduraci added: "There was so much screaming and so many people were trapped behind — they had been left in the rear. They couldn't get out. There were bodies and people piled on top of them. Those trapped underneath were the unlucky ones, they stayed down there."

Deniz Ozpolat also recalled the sense of panic onboard the ferry, owned by Filo Denizcilik: "We headed toward the exit. A crush of people had already formed. We couldn't find the life jackets. They shut the doors on us and we couldn't get out. They opened them later. We jumped into the water. The ship began to sink after listing to the side. We broke the windows and rescued people. There was a family out in the open water, there were children."

Rescuer Muhammed Ozcelik, who runs a water sports company, said his boat was first on the scene. He said: "When we approached the vessel, people were in the water. We rescued as many as we could."

The disaster killed eight people, and 18 remain missing. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.