Ankara (ANTARA News/AFP) - A ferry with 20 passengers and crew on board was hijacked Friday in northwestern Turkey, the local governor said.

An unidentified person hijacked the ferry off the western port city of Izmit, governor Ercan Topaca was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.

"It is not yet clear if there is only one hijacker," said the governor, adding that security forces had launched an investigation into the incident.

The hijacker claimed to have a bomb and told the ferry`s captain that he wanted media publicity, local mayor Ismail Karaosmanoglu told the private NTV television. (*)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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