Turkish army searching for missing soldier

ISTANBUL

Search teams look for a missing Turkish soldier in and around Zap creek. DHA photo

Security forces are searching for a Turkish soldier who went missing after a land mine blast on Sept. 16 in the eastern province of Hakkari, daily Hürriyet reported yesterday.
 
Turkish soldiers were traveling in a military vehicle on the road between Hakkari city center and the district of Çukurca when the vehicle was hit by a land mine blast, killing three and injuring five.
 
The Hakkari governor's office had announced hours after the blast that four soldiers were killed, but only three bodies have been recovered so far.
 
The bodies of three soldiers were flown to Van with helicopters for a military funeral yesterday, but security forces were unable to locate Specialist Sgt. Mehmet Çiftçi, who was also traveling in the military vehicle when the land mine exploded. He was presumed killed in the blast.
 
A large search party comprised of soldiers, village guards and members from Hakkari's disaster response team were sweeping the area around the blast zone to locate Çiftçi. The search efforts only resulted in finding some parts of the military vehicle, which was flung into the Zap creek by the force of the explosion. The search efforts continued today with additional personnel arriving from the eastern province of Van.