türkçe links to original Turkish article
(Hürriyet Newspaper, 14 January 2021)
So close and yet so far for 79 passengers on the "Yıldırım 65"
On 26 December 2019, a boat carrying 79 migrants from Bangaladesh,
India, Pakistan and Afghanistan capsized in Lake Van off the coast
of Adilcevaz district in Bitlis province. Seven of the migrants died.
In an indictment related to the incident, the Bitlis public prosecutor
determined that all the migrants made their way to Iran, where a
trafficking gang charged each of them between $300-$1,000 for
transit to Turkey. Arriving in Van, the gang's members there put the
migrants in safe houses and four days later they boarded a 4-meter
boat named "Yıldırım 65".
As the boat approached the lake coast at Adilcevaz, smoke began to
spew from the boat about 10 meters from shore. As the migrants
scrambled to leave the boat it capsized but they were all able to get
to the shore because the water was not over their heads, although
some were injured.
Forty to fifty of the migrants walked to a gas station. Gendarmerie
units were summoned and arrived. Returning to the boat's location,
the Gendarmerie found the bodies of seven migrants who froze to
death during the night after having emerged soaking wet from the lake.
These migrants had traveled 4,800 kilometers from Bangaladesh,
enduring trouble and hardship all along the way, only to die after their
10-meter struggle to shore.
The Gendarmerie checked phone records and, together with
confirmation from the migrants, identified eight members of the
trafficking gang. The owner of the "Yıldırım 65" rushed to the
port and it was determined that he had changed the name of the
boat from "Atilla Kaptan" to "Yıldırım 65". He denied any
involvement but port and telephone records refuted his denial.
The eight suspects have been charged with "migrant trafficking"
and "causing death by intentional neglect". They each face jail
terms of up to 38.5 years.
Adilcevaz is at left, on the NW coast of Lake Van.
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