Families hold on to hope as search continues for 10 missing crew off Silivri

Families of 10 missing crew members continued waiting on the shore near Silivri, holding on to the possibility that a missing lifeboat could still be found. The Tuğberk İmamoğlu sank after colliding with another Turkish-flagged commercial ship in the Sea of Marmara.

The vessel had been travelling from İskenderun Port to Karadeniz Ereğli when it went down at about 3 a.m. two days earlier. Search and rescue operations continued around the clock on their third day, while relatives waited for news.

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We have not received any news that would upset us so far, and we still believe they will be found alive. We will not lose hope.

Hasan Mirzaoğlu, the brother of the ship’s cook Abdülbaki Mirzaoğlu, said the family had not received news that destroyed its hopes. “We have not received any news that would upset us so far, and we still believe they will be found alive,” he said. The family knows that one lifeboat is missing and believes the crew could return alive.

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We are now waiting for good news. We are not losing hope and are trying to remain strong.

Abdülbaki’s son, Mahsum Mirzaoğlu, said he had spoken with his father one day before the accident. His father had not mentioned any problem, and the family was now waiting for good news while trying to remain strong.

Süreyya Keleş, the daughter of missing crew member Nidai Duman, also said she had spoken with her father the day before the accident. He told her they had reached Istanbul and said his phone would remain on. Keleş said the family only understood that an accident had occurred after the shipping company told them it had no information beyond what the relatives knew.

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One lifeboat is still missing. When we spoke with the company, they said it was impossible for that lifeboat to have exploded and fallen into the sea. That is why we are waiting with hope.