"Tour & Release": Turkish Billionaire Kİlled While on Safari, in Ethiopia

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 14 January 2026) 

            Angel of Death visits the middle of nowhere.

The bodies of businessmen Erdoğan Akbulak (68), the owner of 

Silkar Madencilik (mining) in Turkey, and Cengizhan Güngör, 

who lost their lives in an armed attack during a tourist trip in Ethiopia, 

have been brought back to Türkiye. 

After the autopsy procedures were completed at the Forensic 

Medicine Institute, the bodies of Akbulak and Güngör were 

received by their families and business associates. Akbulak's 

business associate, Murat Türkoğlu, said, "They set out to see the Omo 

Valley. While moving from their accommodation to another location, 

they came under fire from two vehicles. Their first vehicle managed to 

escape, but unfortunately, Cengizhan Bey, Erdoğan Bey, and the driver

in the second vehicle were caught in the crossfire and died. Later, 

we were only able to bring them here today with the great help of the 

embassy."

Murat Türkoğlu, a colleague of Erdoğan Akbulak, who lost his life in 

the attack, said, "We worked together. On Thursday, January 8, 2026, 

he and a group of four friends set off for a purely tourist trip to see the 

Omo Valley. The incident occurred on Monday, January 12. While 

moving from one place to another, they came under fire from two 

vehicles. The first vehicle managed to escape, but unfortunately, 

Cengizhan Bey, Erdoğan Bey, and the driver in the second vehicle 

were caught in the crossfire and died.