Physique of Russian swimmer discovered months after vanishing throughout cross-continental race

The physique of a Russian athlete who went lacking in the course of the annual Bosphorus cross-continental swimming race in Istanbul, has been discovered, Russia’s consulate stated on Thursday.

“The Consulate Normal of Russia in Istanbul regrets to report that, in line with the outcomes of the DNA examination, the physique discovered on January 20 … belongs to the Russian swimmer Nikolai Svechnikov,” it stated in an announcement despatched to the RIA Novosti information company.

The 29-year-old skilled swimming coach had joined the 4-mil) swim between Asia and Europe on August 24 alongside greater than 2,800 contributors from 81 international locations. 

However the Turkish Olympic Committee, which organized the occasion, later stated he “went lacking in the course of the race.” His disappearance was solely observed a number of hours after the occasion, RIA Novosti reported.

The Istanbul governor’s workplace stated safety footage and the timing chip hooked up to his foot confirmed he began the race, however he “had not made it to the end line.”

Regardless of days of searches by the coastguard and the maritime police, his physique was by no means discovered.

However on Tuesday morning, police discovered the physique of a person “close to the Bebek embankment” not removed from the place the race ended, the consulate stated, with DNA testing confirming it was that of the lacking swimmer.

The Istanbul public prosecutor’s workplace, which had opened a probe into the swimmer’s disappearance, had on Wednesday confirmed a physique had been discovered with “no head, no ft and no arms.”

It was additionally discovered to be “sporting a swimsuit,” suggesting it was probably that of Svechnikov, it added.

Alperen Çakmak, a lawyer representing Svechnikov’s household, informed RIA Novosti that he expects an ongoing police investigation to proceed shortly.

“We’ll do every thing to determine all these concerned and responsible of negligence in organizing this occasion,” Çakmak stated. “There is a separate authorized course of concerning compensation, which we’ll proceed to demand from the organizers.”

Through the annual race, the Bosphorus Strait,  one of many world’s busiest transport lanes, is quickly closed to site visitors, with swimmers getting into the water at Kanlica on the Asian aspect and racing to Kurucesme on the European aspect.

In accordance with the official race web site, they’ve a time restrict of two hours to finish the course, with the Turkish coast guard choosing up anybody who doesn’t end inside that point.

A few of the swimmers within the occasion criticized the race for allegedly having inadequate monitoring and never sufficient rescue boats alongside the course, the Moscow Occasions reported.

Istanbul prosecutors had opened an investigation into the incident.