العثور على جثة الطفل «فيصل» في نهر هالديزن بطرابزون

The Turkish authorities announced on Saturday that they had found the body of the Saudi child Faisal Al-Sheikh, who was 9 years old and had gone missing several days ago in the "Haldizen" River in the mountainous area of Uzungöl in Trabzon Province (northern Turkey), after being swept away by the current while trying to drink water from the river.

The announcement came after six days of intensive search efforts, which involved specialized rescue teams from the Turkish Civil Defense, supported by diving teams and drones, along with close monitoring from the Saudi embassy in Ankara, which had been present from the very first moments of the incident and provided full support to the family.

The Turkish Health Department of Trabzon announced the discovery of the child Faisal, who had fallen into the Haldizen stream in the Demirkapı neighborhood of Çaykara district and had disappeared, at a depth of about 2200 meters below the water surface, where he was swept away by the current; thanks to intensive search and rescue efforts.

Following the tragic incident, Trabzon Governor Aziz Yıldırım contacted the Saudi Embassy in Ankara and informed them, while the Saudi ambassador to Turkey, Fahd Abu Nasr, was present at the scene of the incident and met with the family of the missing child Faisal Ramzi Al-Sheikh. The Saudi embassy issued a clarifying statement that the Turkish local authorities were able to reach the child's body and retrieve it, and the embassy would coordinate with his family and the relevant Turkish authorities to complete the necessary procedures. They expressed their deepest condolences and sympathy to his family in this great tragedy and extended their sincere thanks to the Turkish authorities for their significant efforts in searching for the deceased - may he rest in peace - and retrieving his body.

In the details of the incident, the child was on a tourist trip with his family in one of the tourist areas near the Haldizen River when heavy rains began to fall. The child attempted to approach a rock at the edge of the river to drink water, but his hand slipped from his father's grip, and he fell, being swept away by the flowing water in the blink of an eye, disappearing from his father's sight. The child's father fell and was swept away as well, pushed several meters by the rushing water until he reached a group of rocks that he was able to cling to and climb to safety, and he was granted survival by divine will, before he and the child's mother got into their car and slowly drove along the river, while they anxiously monitored its course in an attempt to find their missing son before a Turkish citizen noticed their fear and promptly reported the incident to the security authorities in Turkey.

The local authorities in Trabzon dispatched search and rescue teams, volunteers, citizens, and civil defense and health teams to find the child.