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Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has set up a dedicated coordination unit to run search operations for people reported missing after Wednesday's flood in Istanbul. A total of 159 search and rescue personnel are working along stream beds, at the points where the streams flow out, and in the Golden Horn area.

AFAD Istanbul Arama Kurtarma Birimi (Search and Rescue Unit) head Birol Özdal said teams have been deployed in the field since the first day of the flooding and that the search will continue depending on how the situation develops.

Coordination centre opened in Kemerburgaz

The Istanbul Provincial Disaster and Emergency Directorate established a Disaster Coordination Centre in Kemerburgaz to keep the search for the missing citizens running in an orderly way. Teams are carrying out their work from that base, Özdal told the AA news agency.

"We set up a coordination unit so that the work can be carried out in a healthier way. Our teams are currently in the field. We are working along the stream beds starting from Ayazağa Mahallesi," Özdal said.

Personnel from several provinces join the search

Fifty-six AFAD staff drawn mainly from Istanbul, along with Muğla, Afyonkarahisar, Kütahya and Tokat, are carrying out the operations on the ground. They are supported by 78 personnel from the Coast Guard Command and 25 search and rescue volunteers, some of whom are attached to Eyüpsultan Municipality.

Özdal said the searches extend from the bed of the Cendere stream in Ayazağa, through Kağıthane and the Alibeyköy branch, to the Golden Horn, where those waters empty. Search and sweep activities along the stream beds are continuing with all 159 personnel, he said.

Drones and sonar used along streams and the Golden Horn

Teams are using drones and sonar equipment in the stream beds of Kağıthane, Cendere, Alibeyköy and Ayazağa and in the Golden Horn, where the streams discharge. "We scan the streams with drones. We will carry out sonar work in the streams and at different points, above all in the Golden Horn," Özdal said. "Where conditions allow, we will also search along the streams by boat." he added.

Özdal said people may be trapped inside vehicles swept away by the water or stuck between them, which is why the search covers both the streams and the areas where they empty out. "Our main goal is to find our missing citizens. They may be trapped inside swept-away vehicles or wedged between them," he said.

Search to continue based on how conditions develop

Search and rescue crews have been in the field since the first day of the flooding, Özdal said, adding that operations will be adjusted as the situation evolves. The immediate priority remains locating the citizens reported missing after the disaster.

Key takeaways

• AFAD set up a Disaster Coordination Centre in Kemerburgaz to run the search for people missing after Wednesday's flood in Istanbul.
• A total of 159 personnel are working: 56 AFAD staff, 78 Coast Guard members and 25 search and rescue volunteers.
• Teams are searching the stream beds of Ayazağa, Cendere, Kağıthane and Alibeyköy and the Golden Horn, using drones and sonar.
• Missing citizens may be trapped inside or between vehicles swept away by the floodwaters, according to AFAD.