VIDEO: Two die, eight injured after flash flood in touristic canyon in Muğla

MUĞLA – Doğan News Agency

Two people died and eight were injured July 20 after being trapped inside the Saklıkent Canyon in the southwestern province of Muğla. DHA Photo

Two people died and eight were injured July 20 after being trapped inside the Saklıkent Canyon in the southwestern province of Muğla due to intense flooding, with the mayor describing the deaths as “fate.”

Some 46 tourists visiting the canyon on July 20 when they were caught by a sudden torrential rain. One of the tourists, later identified as Ozan Genç, was killed after being smashed into rocks by the force of the flood waters that inundated the canyon. A witness said Genç was experiencing heart failure when he was pulled from the water and died at hospital even though medics had initially succeeded in resuscitating him.




A witness said Genç was experiencing heart failure when he was pulled from the water and died at the hospital despite medics initially succeeding in resuscitating him.

The body of Ömer Özcan, who went missing after drifting in the waters, was found early yesterday, officials said.  

Eight tourists who jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue Genç were eventually rescued and transferred to the hospital, as almost 50 tourists had to be rescued from the canyon after the incident.

The mayor of the Seydikemer district where the canyon is located said such flooding was rare in the region during the summer.

“A flood in this season is unseen. Something similar happened 15 years ago. It’s God’s fate,” ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Mayor Yakup Otgöz said.

Meanwhile, the district governor vowed to dispatch a permanent medical team to the canyon during the summer time.

Muğla Culture and Tourism Board head Veli Çelik said they will discuss measures to prevent such incidents in the future, while also adding they have covered all of the needs of the tourists who were trapped in the canyon. He also said Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çalık phoned him and instructed him to do anything necessary for the trapped tourists after the incident.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had faced criticism after the Soma coal mine disaster earlier this year that killed 301 people, saying such accidents are in “the nature of the business.”

Footage posted on the Internet of the disaster at the Saklıkent canyon showed scenes of panic as people desperately tried to save themselves and others as they were swept away with the raging flood waters.

The canyon, some 50 kilometers northwest of the resort town of Fethiye, is a popular excursion destination for Turkish and foreign tourists alike.