At least eight people have died and more than a dozen others are still missing after a passenger boat capsized off northern Cyprus, the head of the Turkish administration there has said.

Ünal Üstel, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Turkish republic on Cyprus, said the ferry had been carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members when it began taking on water after departing the coastal town of Kyrenia.

The ship's captain and seven crew members have been detained as part of an investigation into "how this tragedy occurred", Üstel wrote on social media.

A search and rescue operation to find the passengers still unaccounted for is under way, which Turkish authorities have joined.

The privately owned ferry left the popular holiday resort of Kyrenia at about 12:30 local time (09:30 GMT).

Üstel said the boat had been scheduled to travel to Turkey on Saturday, but had been delayed due to poor weather conditions.

He told Turkish media outlet TRT that the boat was hit by two waves before it capsized.

While the captain of the vessel was trying to recover from the first wave, a second wave hit and it began taking on water, he told the outlet.