Parents reveal heartbreaking thing their daughter, 12, said before slipping away from their grip when ferry capsized

Following last week's sea tragedy which has left at least eight dead, heartbroken parents have shared the harrowing final moments they had with their daughter before she fell from the capsized ferry.

The passenger boat, which was carrying 259 ​passengers and eight crew members, capsized off northern Cyprus and sank over the weekend, with the death toll currently standing at eight while another 18 are thought to be missing.

Among the missing are 12-year-old Miray and six-year-old Mehmet, who both fell from the boat, with their heartbroken parents Ayten and Hayri Bicer forced to return to shore with their other son, leaving their youngest children behind.

In a tragic interview with reporters, Ayten said: “She was saying, ‘Don’t let go’. And I didn’t let go of my daughter. I swear, I didn’t let her go.”

Unfortunately, a suitcase then fell onto Miray and knocked her out of Ayten's grasp, and while she desperately tried to cling onto her daughter's foot to prevent her from falling,

However, it became too difficult to hold on to her as she was covered in engine oil: “It was slipping like oil, there ‌was diesel, our feet were slippery. It was slippery everywhere…. she slipped out ‌of my hand", she said.

More than 200 passengers were rescued from the capsized ferry (DHA via AP)

Hayri added: “We couldn’t intervene. We lost our children. We made a lot of effort but we couldn’t save our children.

“Two of my children are gone. One of my sons is alive. We left them. We are leaving them on this island as we go.”

The eight crew members, including the ship's captain, and one other man were formally arrested on Monday 31 August, with the Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus Ünal Üstel clarifying that the arrests formed part of an investigation ‘to determine how this tragedy occurred’.

"Every aspect of this incident will be investigated," he wrote in a post on Facebook.

"Even the slightest negligence will be uncovered. No one will be spared, regardless of who is found to be at fault or responsible.

"It is both the duty of our state and its responsibility to the people we have lost and their families to fully illuminate all aspects of this great tragedy."

The heartbroken parents were forced to leave two of their children behind (DHA via AP)

Extensive search-and-rescue operations were launched in the immediate aftermath of the incident and it is hoped that the 18 missing passengers could still be saved but as time progresses the chances of finding any survivors sadly declines.

The hull of the ferry has also now sunk to the seabed and it is unknown if any passengers remain trapped inside.

Suvivor Efe Multici told CNN Turk: “The ⁠vessel had been moving very badly.

"It was constantly lifting out of the water and slamming back down. It was shaking violently."

He said that a few moments later the ferry ‘leapt high into the air, then came crashing down’.

"The front left side burst open and water started pouring in," he added.

It is also reported that the boat had set off in very stormy conditions and that the passengers had asked the crew to turn back, but they refused.