26.06.2025 14:51
A photo of the five individuals who lost their lives in a car accident after the vehicle carrying the expert team returning from the discovery of the Meryem Ana Church in the Sason district of Batman rolled into a ditch has emerged, taken just half an hour before their deaths.
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The accident occurred on June 23 in the foothills of Mereto Mountain in the Sason district. The car, which was returning from the discovery of the Meryem Ana Church and contained 5 people, crashed into the car carrying the judges ahead and rolled into the ditch. In the accident, Mehmet Cabir Alper (45), the Director of Batman Museum, Dr. Aliye Yılmaz (45), a faculty member at Batman University, and Lecturer Mustafa Serdar Akgönül (45), as well as Fesih Barut, the Branch Manager at the Diyarbakır Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, and Mazlum Yılmaz, the vehicle driver working at the Sason District Governorship, lost their lives.
THEY STARTED WORKING TOGETHER 15 YEARS AGO, IN THE SAME PERIOD
Aliye Yılmaz was buried next to her mother, who passed away two months ago in Elazığ, while Mustafa Serdar Akgönül, who was married and a father of three, was laid to rest in Ankara. Mazlum Yılmaz was buried in Sason, Fesih Barut in Diyarbakır, and Mehmet Cabir Alper in Batman. It was learned that the deceased academics started their duties together 15 years ago in the same period. Additionally, a last photo taken by academician Serdar Akgönül just half an hour before the accident to throw to his wife emerged from the place they went for the discovery. The only remnants of the accident are the photo that includes the discovery team and images of the deceased academics taken during various events at the university over the years.
"WE ARE STILL UNDER THE IMPACT OF THE INCIDENT"
Yalçın Altunkaynak, the Director of the Technical Sciences Vocational School at Batman University, stated, "Two of our valuable academic professors started serving together in 2010 and have been doing beneficial work for education, our students, and the environment for years. They went to Sason as experts in the morning. In the afternoon, we received news of an accident. Of course, the impact of the incident and its deep sorrow was upon us. Then, as news came in, there was a shock effect. We are still under the impact of the incident. Both of our professors were humble, hardworking individuals who did their jobs, never shied away from any task, and managed to establish good relationships with both their students and their surroundings," he said.
"OUR SORROW DOES NOT EASE AT ALL"
Yalçın Altunkaynak continued, "In that sense, they were exemplary individuals. They were two valuable academics who would not be easily replaced. Unfortunately, we lost them. When we heard the news, at first, we couldn't believe it. Because when you suddenly receive the news of the death of friends with whom you sat and chatted, drank tea, and talked about school and education just a day before, it has a shocking effect. The last photo taken by Serdar, just half an hour before the incident, reached us. Seeing it really saddened us deeply. It was the last photo reflecting their final state. It had a profound impact on us. Right now, we have that photo, and as we look at it, our sorrow does not ease at all," he said.
"I COULDN'T GRASP IT AT FIRST"
Dr. Lecturer Reşit Uğran, who works in the Veterinary Department of the Technical Sciences Vocational School at Batman University, said: "I stayed in the same room with Serdar for 2 years. They were honest and hardworking individuals. They were people who did everything they could for science. I learned about the death news randomly. I overheard friends talking and found out. At first, I couldn't grasp it. I was shocked when I heard the news. Like everyone else, I couldn't get myself together for a while. These two friends were hardworking and valuable individuals who contributed to our university in a scientific sense."
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