Nine people rescued from Tigris River

Nine people from two families, including three children and four women, in the Eğil district of the southeastern province of Diyarbakır were picnicking near the Tigris River in an area where entry was prohibited due to a change in the riverbed caused by the release of water from a nearby dam.

Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality rescue teams reached the nine people from the Dağdağan and Kesen families with boats in around 30 minutes.

In a similar incident from August 2014, five people drowned in the restricted Alkumru reservoir in the southeastern province of Siirt, while one person is still missing, amid claims of negligence from the local bar.

A large number of people entered the empty reservoir on the Botan River for a picnic on Aug. 24, 2014, but at around 6:00 p.m. the dam’s gates suddenly opened to allow a large flow of water to pour into the reservoir. 

Four of the 10 people were saved by local rescue teams, while the bodies of five others were found during rescue operations that continued into the early hours and Siirt Deputy Gov. Mustafa Pala confirmed that another body was still missing.