Five electricity workers die after boat capsizes in eastern Turkey

Five electricity workers die after boat capsizes in eastern Turkey

2012-04-06 07:50:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

ASKALE, TURKEY (BNO NEWS) -- Rescue workers in eastern Turkey have found the bodies of five electricity workers who went missing earlier this week when their boat capsized on a lake during a repair job, officials said on Thursday.

The incident occurred late Tuesday night at the Karasu 2 dam reservoir in the AÅŸkale district of Turkey's eastern province of Erzurum when the five Turkish Electricity Distribution Company (TEDAÅž) workers were aboard a pedal boat to repair a power line on the reservoir.

The workers were crossing the ice-covered lake when the boat reportedly hit a large piece of ice, ultimately causing the boat to capsize. The five workers grasped on to pieces of ice desperately as they awaited for rescue teams, but they eventually disappeared before emergency teams reached the scene.

AÅŸkale District Governor Asalet Karabulut told the Hurriyet Daily News that emergency teams consisting of a helicopters and seven divers were deployed to the scene, but after failing to find any trace of the workers, the team's operations were stopped at around 1 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

The first body was found on Wednesday, and all five victims had been recovered by Thursday. They were identified as TEDAÅž workers Feridun Öztürk, Mustafa ArifoÄŸulları, Sait Turan, Rıdvan Takım, and Åžahin Baykal, the newspaper reported on its website.

Witnesses told the media outlet that emergency teams were slow to respond, adding that the workers held on to pieces of ice for some two hours before they disappeared. The incident happened on the same day that Turkey's Parliament discussed the drafting of a new labor safety law to regulate working conditions in order to provide workers' needs.

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