Court arrests captain over tour boat accident off Turkey’s Antalya

The captain, identified only as A.T., two staff members and the owner of the tour boat have been referred to court after testifying to the prosecutor.

The Antalya court ordered the arrest of A.T. on charges of causing reckless homicide, while the two staff members, identified only as S.K. and A.K., and the tour boat owner, identified as H.K., were released on probation.

Two people were killed and 84 others, including foreign tourists, were rescued when the 28-meter-boat called “Kurt C” capsized while returning to Antalya’s old town marina from a one-day tour after being hit by a strong storm on Sept. 3.

Marine and harbor teams managed to rescue 84 on board after the accident, but one day later diving teams supported by Coast Guard helicopters reached the lifeless bodies of two people inside the sunken tour boat 45 meters deep.

The identity of the one of those killed was disclosed as 35-year-old Istanbul resident Serap Çelik, who was taking the tour with her two cousins, and Lebanese citizen Samira Frayha. Çelik was found dead in the boat’s kitchen by the rescue teams, while Frayha was found in the boat’s machine room. 

Meanwhile, also on Sept. 3 three people, who were on a plastic boat off the Küçük Çaltıcak area between Antalya and its Kemer district during the storm, were also rescued after their boat sank.