18.10.2026 18:03
In the Gebze district of Kocaeli, one of two people who disappeared in a jeep that fell into a stream and was swept away by floodwaters after heavy rain has been reached. During search and rescue efforts that continued throughout the night, the lifeless body of one person was found, and identification efforts were initiated. After the incident, teams dispatched to the region continue their efforts to find the other person who was swept away by floodwaters and disappeared.
In the Gebze district of Kocaeli, the lifeless body of one of the 2 people who disappeared in the SUV that fell into the stream and was swept away by floodwaters has been recovered. While the identity of the person found during search and rescue efforts lasting about 13 hours has not yet been determined, efforts to find the other missing person are continuing.
Sad news came for one of the 2 missing people in the SUV that fell into the stream and was caught in the current after heavy rainfall in the Gebze district of Kocaeli. As a result of search and rescue efforts that began during the night, the lifeless body of one of the missing people was found about 3 kilometers from the scene, in Göçbeyli Neighborhood of Istanbul's Pendik district.
SUV FELL INTO STREAM, DRIVER SURVIVED
The incident occurred at around 23:00 on Saturday, October 17, in the stream near Yediyer Street in Kadıllı Neighborhood of Gebze district. The SUV with license plate 34 HER 50, driven by Mustafa Deniz Ertaş, which had set out to return to their home in Istanbul from their summer house in Kadıllı Neighborhood, fell into the stream whose flow rate had risen and was swept away by floodwaters.
Of the three people in the vehicle, the driver Mustafa Deniz Ertaş managed to escape by his own means. It was learned that Ertaş broke the window to get out of the vehicle and survived by holding onto a tree branch on the bank. The driver stated that after getting out of the vehicle, he never saw his friends Doğan Arslan and Fatih Demirtaş again.
MANY TEAMS WERE MOBILIZED
Upon notification, AFAD, fire brigade, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Underwater Search and Rescue teams, Gebze Municipality Search and Rescue (GEAK), Çayırova Municipality Search and Rescue (ÇAKTİM), medical and gendarmerie teams were dispatched to the area.
The teams launched search and rescue work in and around the stream bed to reach the two missing people and the vehicle swept away by floodwaters. Drones were also used during the efforts.
EFFORTS UNDERWAY TO IDENTIFY ONE PERSON
After efforts lasting about 13 hours, the lifeless body of one of the two missing people was found. Work was started to identify the person removed from the stream, and the body was taken to the Forensic Medicine Institute.
Search and rescue efforts are continuing in the area to reach the other missing person.