Eight bodies found on Antalya beaches in one week

In nearly one week, eight bodies were found washed ashore on the beaches in different districts of Turkey’s southern Antalya province. The governor’s office stated that five bodies were believed from a sunken refugee ship.

Duvar English

In Turkey’s southern Antalya province, a total of eight bodies were found washed ashore in the last six days in the province after two skeletal bodies of unknown gender and identity were also discovered 500 metres apart on the beach in Serik district on Jan. 22.

The newly found bodies were sent to Antalya Forensic Medicine Institution for autopsy and identification.

The body of a child without a head and an arm was found on the beach in Manavgat district on Jan. 17, and a day later, the body of a child with no body above the waist was found on the beach in Alanya district.

On Jan. 20, two bodies of unknown gender were found in different neighborhoods of Manavgat, and the body of a young woman washed ashore in Serik district. On Jan. 21, another body was found washed ashore in Aksu district.

Antalya Governor's Office on Jan. 21 announced that one of the six bodies washed ashore was believed to be that of a person who had disappeared some time ago, and that the place of production of the shoes and clothes belonging to five bodies was Syria.

The governor’s office stated that a boat carrying approximately 90 people from the coastal area between Lebanon and Syria on Dec. 11, 2023 departed towards Cyprus and then the connection was lost. 

The authorities noted that they considered the possibility that the lifeless bodies in question could drift to the coastal lines of Antalya due to currents and winds.