Authorities in Cyprus say they have retrieved at least seven bodies after a boat carrying Syrian refugees sank off its coast on Saturday.

Local officials say the bodies were recovered by Port and Maritime Police vessels during a search and rescue mission around 24 to 25 nautical miles southeast of Cape Greco.

According to local media, 21 people, mostly Syrian migrants, were on board the boat which sank four days ago and was only found on Tuesday morning by the Search and Rescue Coordination Centre.

Rescue and emergency authorities said two people were rescued alive, and the search for survivors is continuing with 12 individuals still missing. Authorities deployed a navy ship, a helicopter and an unmanned aerial vehicle of the National Guard.

Some of the recovered bodies have been transferred to a morgue at Limassol General Hospital, while the two survivors pulled out of the ocean have been hospitalised, local reports say. The two were suffering from dehydration.

Cypriot authorities said the boat capsized well outside its border zone but noted its rescue coordination in some cases extends operations in some cases to the territorial waters of Syria and Lebanon.

Cyprus has increased coast guard patrols on its eastern coast in light of the current situation, Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis said.

Today’s boat disaster comes as authorities fear an increase in people trying to cross due to the recent political developments in Syria, with Bashal al-Assad’s government being toppled by the Ahmed al-Sharaa-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Video editor • Jerry Fisayo-Bambi