Turkish businesswoman falls off ship in Tahiti

ISTANBUL

In the incident of Dilek Ertek, a businesswoman who allegedly disappeared after falling off a cruise ship in Tahiti, her Swiss boyfriend has become prime suspect as he reported her missing 20 hours after her fall.

The 71-year-old Ertek boarded the cruise ship on Oct. 24 to celebrate her birthday in Bora Bora with her 74-year-old Swiss boyfriend.

According to the camera records on the ship, though Ertek fell into the sea at 3 a.m., her boyfriend reported that Ertek was missing exactly 20 hours later, which caused suspicions to gather on the boyfriend.

Following the incident was reported to the authorities, the ship docked in Tahiti three days later. Though the Swiss boyfriend was questioned by the police, he was released on the grounds that there was not enough evidence and returned to his country.

As her high-value jewels were not found among her items delivered by the ship’s management, the authorities investigating the incident included the suspicion of theft in the investigation.

Stating Ertek had a happy and peaceful life, her relatives and friends did not believe Ertek’s death was suicide, which is also investigated in the case to be a possibility.

Providing information regarding the physical conditions of the cruise ship, a ship captain stated that as the windows in the cabins are quite high and the balconies are anchored, it is quite difficult to accidentally fall from there.

After Gökçe Atuk, the son of Ertek, received the news of the incident, he went to Tahiti to observe the search work on the site. Even after 11 days, Ertek could not still be reached.