The first funeral for a victim of Sunday’s catamaran disaster off Kyrenia was held on Monday afternoon, as search operations continued for a second consecutive night.

Nuray Zeytun Ozbiler, 59, a mother of four who died when the Filo Jet catamaran sank off the coast of Kyrenia, was laid to rest in Famagusta.

The funeral was attended by ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel, Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Sila Usar Incirli, several ‘ministers’ and ‘MPs’, as well as Ozbiler’s relatives.

The bodies of several other victims have meanwhile been transferred to Turkey for burial in the cities where they lived. The bodies of Huseyin Ozdemir and Reyhan Verim have already been transferred to Mersin, while the body of Nihat Bayemez was taken to Gaziantep, where his funeral is due to take place on Tuesday.

According to Turkish Cypriot media, another of the victims, Fahri Ates, was a gendarmerie specialist sergeant who had been travelling with his wife and four-year-old child. Reports said Ates managed to save his wife and child but was unable to save himself. His wife and child are being treated at a hospital in the north, while the rest of his family lives in Tremetousia.

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Haci Ali Ozel, who is spending a second day in the north, visited the crisis management centre in Kyrenia on Monday, where he was briefed on the situation by Ustel, ‘health minister’ Hakan Dincyurek and other officials.

Ozel also visited Turkish nationals being treated at various hospitals and spoke with their relatives.

He said efforts were continuing to meet the needs of the victims and other Turkish citizens, including arrangements for their transfer to Turkey, adding that the Turkish authorities were ready to provide any further assistance required.

Search operations continued for a second consecutive night, involving eight ships, nine boats, one aircraft, seven helicopters and five UAV drones.

Ustel said on Monday that a specialised search vessel capable of operating at depths of up to 1,000 metres was expected to arrive from Turkey on Tuesday to reinforce the operation.

On Monday multiple passengers said that the boat’s captain was asked to turn back to port as it began to take on water, but that he had refused to listen to those calls.

Meanwhile, shipping company Akguler is due to begin sea services on Tuesday after Filo Jet completely suspended its own operations.

Private Turkish airline Pegasus has also added four flights to its Tuesday schedule at subsidised fares to help meet increased demand for travel between Turkey and the north.