14.06.2026 08:30
Footage of the boat accident in Rize, where 1 AFAD personnel lost their life, has emerged. The images recorded at Fırtına Stream show the moments when the boat carrying the search and rescue team capsized in seconds and the personnel were thrown into the water.
Footage has emerged of the accident that claimed the life of an AFAD personnel during search and rescue operations in Fırtına Stream to find Volkan Civelekoğlu, who went missing in Rize's Çamlıhemşin district.
AFAD BOAT CAPSIZED, 1 PERSON KILLED After the missing Civelekoğlu's personal belongings were found by the stream, a search operation was launched in Fırtına Stream. The lifeless body of the missing young man was found in the stream in Şenyuva, a village in the district. Meanwhile, when the boat carrying AFAD teams capsized in Fırtına Stream, 5 personnel lost their balance and fell into the water. One AFAD personnel lost their life in the incident, while 4 personnel were rescued injured.
FOOTAGE EMERGED While a wide-scale investigation was launched into the incident, the moment of the accident was recorded moment by moment on a mobile phone by a citizen present in the area at the time.
IDENTITY REVEALED It was announced that the AFAD personnel who lost their life when the boat capsized as the lifeless body of missing Volkan Civelek was being retrieved from the stream in Rize's Çamlıhemşin district was Ömer Faruk Özkan (28).
SENT OFF TO HIS HOMETOWN WITH A CEREMONY A ceremony was held in front of the Rize Provincial Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD), Özkan's duty station, for Ömer Faruk Özkan (28), who lost his life. After the ceremony, Özkan's body was sent off to his hometown, Bolu.
"WE ARE AT THE POINT WHERE WORDS FALL SHORT" Speaking at the ceremony, Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş said, "We are at the point where words fall short. Today, we are bidding farewell to a colleague, a brother, a precious son of ours to the mercy of Allah. When our search and rescue personnel conduct a search activity during disasters or when our personnel on duty carry out an activity, and that rescue is successfully completed, we always use this phrase: 'The teams fought at the cost of their lives.' We say, 'They fought putting their lives on the line.' Here is an example of what that means. Today, during a search and rescue activity in Çamlıhemşin, while our friends were carrying out that activity at the cost of their lives as always, unfortunately, we lost our brother Ömer Faruk. We are sending him off to the Almighty Allah, to eternity.
These friends of ours are the first to rush to incidents occurring in every corner of our country. They were the first to rush when earthquakes happened, the first to rush when landslides occurred. Even when various disasters happened in our province, they were the first to take on duty without waiting for a call, with enthusiasm and the motive to serve the nation and the country, to heal a wound, and to be a lifeline to a soul. Today, unfortunately, five of our friends were involved in a tragic accident; four were injured, their health conditions are good, but we are bidding farewell to our son and brother, Ömer Faruk. May God not let us experience such pains again. May He grant patience to his family, his mother, his father, and his spouse. May the AFAD family, our city, all our AFAD personnel, and our search and rescue unit be comforted. I wish patience, condolences, and mercy. May his place be heaven. I hope we do not encounter such a trial, such pain again. With this farewell, we will send him to Bolu, his hometown, and there, in his homeland, we will entrust him to the Almighty Allah. Once again, may we be comforted, I wish patience, may Allah have mercy on him. I wish you a good evening, may you be entrusted to Allah. May his place be heaven, inshallah," he said.
After the ceremony, the body of Özkan, who was reportedly married and had a 10-month-old baby, was sent off to his hometown, Bolu, for burial.