Ankara, Turkey—The wall of muddy water roared down the mountain gorge without warning, tearing tents and camping gear from the riverbank within seconds. Campers enjoying the late-summer weekend had no time to escape as the torrent spilled over the rocky banks, fed by heavy cloudbursts high in the upper watershed.
Search and rescue teams launched inflatable rafts at dawn to comb the swollen river channel for missing persons. Helicopters equipped with thermal imaging cameras swept the winding valley downstream from the initial campsite.
Divers recovered three bodies caught against submerged boulders roughly two miles from where the tents had been pitched. Medical examiners established preliminary identification procedures at a temporary field station set up near the bridge.
"The water level rose nearly three meters in less than ten minutes due to an isolated flash cloudburst in the peaks," said a local disaster management agency coordinator. "Campers were stationed in a high-risk flood plain without natural escape routes."
Gendarmerie patrols cordoned off the river access points to prevent onlookers from interfering with recovery watercraft. Local residents assisted rescue units by pointing out deep eddies and debris traps along the river bends.
Emergency medical technicians treated several surviving campers for hypothermia and shock at the riverside triage point.
The search operation concluded its primary sweep as river flows began to recede late in the afternoon.
Authorities issued widespread warnings urging tourists to avoid unmonitored wilderness riverbanks during unstable weather periods.
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