Saudi Arabian tourist drowns in Turkish rafting trip

A Saudi tourist drowned when he fell off a boat during rafting in Ardesen district in the northwestern Turkish province of Rize. (Flickr: SaraYeomans)

ANKARA: A Saudi Arabian tourist drowned when he fell off a boat during rafting in Ardesen district in the northwestern Turkish province of Rize.
Almer Fadah Sahda, 40, took the rafting boat on Firtina River with other tourists and the boat overturned at noon.
HIs cause of death was a heart attack after he was dragged by the current.
Sahda was taken out of the water by local residents but he could not be revived at the nearby Kackar Public Hospital.
POVARI Rafting Company, which provided Sahda’s trip, is a local company with no work permit.
The boat is thought to have hit a big stone in the river, and the legal investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The interest among Arab tourists in the Black Sea region has picked up in recent years, with a bigger inflow of tourists and purchase of real estate in the region.
Ardesen district is popular with tourists for rafting and canoe sports. However, in recent years the district’s reputation has been harmed by fatal incidents. In May 2016, two fatal rafting accidents took place in one week, raising concerns about the security and competence of the rafting clubs.
Omer San, a local journalist and the spokesperson of a local platform, Friendship of Rivers, told Arab News that the number of fatal accidents in the river increased at springtime.
“With the increase in temperatures in these months and the melting of snow, there are differences in the water flows and speeds. The licensed as well as the unlicensed clubs do not take into consideration this change, and do not take necessary precautions,” he said.