21.01.2026 22:20
The male body found in the sea in Beşiktaş, which was determined to be missing its head and arms, was identified through a DNA test conducted by the Forensic Medicine Institution as belonging to Russian swimmer Nikolai Andreevich Svechnikov, who went missing during the Bosphorus Intercontinental Swimming Race held on August 24, 2025.
After being found on the Kuruçeşme Coast in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, the identity verification of the body taken to the Forensic Medicine Institution has been completed.
DNA SAMPLES COMPARED, BODY BELONGS TO RUSSIAN SWIMMER Upon suspicion that the body belonged to Nikolai Andreevich Svechnikov, who went missing during the Bosphorus Intercontinental Swimming Race held on August 24, 2025, the family of the Russian swimmer came to Istanbul. DNA samples taken from Svechnikov's mother and father were compared with the body at the Forensic Medicine Institution, accompanied by the Public Security Branch Directorate teams from Istanbul Airport. As a result of the tests, it was determined that the body belonged to Svechnikov. It was learned that Svechnikov's remains would be handed over to his family after the procedures at the Forensic Medicine Institution.
WHAT HAPPENED? Svechnikov went missing during the race held in the Bosphorus on August 24, which was attended by 2,820 athletes from 81 countries. Despite days of searching, Svechnikov's body could not be found. Teams mobilized to locate the athlete had initiated extensive search operations both underwater and on the surface of the Bosphorus, particularly in the Kanlıca-Kuruçeşme area, immediately after the race.
An investigation has been launched by the Beykoz Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the incident, and a letter was sent to the Sarıyer Law Enforcement Support Team Command in this context. The letter requested not only the identification and address information of Svechnikov but also the collection and submission of all camera footage taken during the race. The prosecutor's office requested that the relatives of the missing Russian athlete be identified and their statements taken as victims, and also ordered that individuals who knew Svechnikov and participated in the same competition be identified and their statements taken as witnesses. The prosecutor's office also requested an investigation into hotel and hospital records to determine if there were any entries related to the missing athlete.
As part of the investigation, police teams examined the security camera footage recorded at the hotel where Svechnikov stayed in Beyoğlu on the morning of the day he went missing at sea. The footage showed the Russian athlete leaving his room, going down to the reception, sitting there for a while, and then leaving the hotel.
This morning, some citizens on the Kuruçeşme Coast noticed a body on the beach, and upon reporting the situation, teams from the Provincial Security Directorate's Marine Port Branch and the Coast Guard Command were dispatched to the area. The body, which was brought ashore by the teams and had no identification on it, was taken to the morgue of the Forensic Medicine Institution for examination after the work at the scene.