Weekend deluge claims numerous lives across Turkey

Severe rainfall and floods over the weekend have led to the loss of eight lives nationwide in Turkey. Separately, 13 crew members went missing after a boat sank off the coast of Zonguldak in the Black Sea region, with one of the bodies have been retrieved. 

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, speaking at a press conference held at Zonguldak’s Karadeniz Ereğlisi Port, stated that efforts are underway to search for the missing people. 

"A dry cargo ship, departing from the port to go to İzmir in Zonguldak, collided with the pier and sank. We have reached the lifeless body of one of the 13 Turkish crew members. Search efforts for the 11 missing individuals are ongoing,” he said. “The Kamarun ship, anchored in the port, ran aground, and the crew was rescued.” 

"Furthermore, due to the floods, three individuals in Zonguldak, four in Batman, and one in Diyarbakır have lost their lives. A total of nine of our citizens have lost their lives,” he said.  

Yesterday evening in Batman, Lalihan Güner, 54, lost her life as she was swept away by the floods caused by excessive rainfall. Health teams, providing initial intervention to the woman pulled from the water by citizens, determined Güner's passing. Her body was taken to the morgue at the Batman Training and Research Hospital. 

Simultaneously, Güner's three children, aged between 1 and 9, also disappeared, carried away by the floodwaters. Their bodies were later found by search and rescue teams.   

Batman Governor and Acting Mayor Ekrem Canalp said that over 100 kilograms of rainfall per square meter occurred in the city center, resulting in three citizens being sent to hospitals with injuries. 

During this process, Canalp mentioned receiving 3,078 calls and emphasized their efforts to respond to these assistance requests throughout the night.   

The search and rescue operation for the crew of the sinking ship off the coast of Karadeniz Ereğlisi, Zonguldak, is still underway. Work is being carried out through air, sea, and land to locate the 12-member Turkish crew of the "Kafkametler," a dry cargo ship that sank yesterday morning as the storm and heavy rain persisted across the city. (AÖ/VK)