Picnic turns to tragedy: 2 children missing in river

A picnic outing turned tragic in Aydın's İncirliova district when two children went missing in the Büyük Menderes River.

The incident occurred around 6 p.m. near the Acarlar neighborhood. Three of four friends picnicking by the river decided to cool off in the water. While one child managed to escape the strong current and reach the bank, 11-year-old Şahin Ö. and 15-year-old Eda K. were swept away.

The remaining friend alerted emergency services after realizing the other two were in distress. A large-scale search and rescue operation was immediately launched, involving the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE), Gendarmerie Search and Rescue (JAK), firefighters, and medical teams.

Diver police from İzmir have begun searching the river, and AFAD divers and Gendarmerie Underwater Search and Rescue teams are also en route to assist. Relatives of the missing children are also participating in the search efforts.