Sailor Savaş Çakar, killed in the REYHAN SARI drone attack, was laid to rest in Kocaeli. Two crew members were injured in the incident.
LATEST UPDATE ON THE REYHAN SARI ATTACK: Savaş Çakar Laid to Rest
The body of sailor Savaş Çakar, who lost his life in the drone attack on the Turkish-flagged REYHAN SARI in the Black Sea, was recovered from the wreckage after the ship reached Trabzon. Çakar was laid to rest in Derince, Kocaeli. While the company confirmed that two injured crew members were evacuated, initial reports indicated that there were three injured. The exact coordinates and perpetrator of the attack have not yet been officially disclosed.
T and O Shipping confirmed that the Turkish-flagged REYHAN SARI was attacked by an unmanned aerial vehicle while sailing in the Black Sea on July 22. The company stated that despite damage to its communication systems, the ship continued to navigate with its own engines and reached the waters off Samsun. In the initial company statement, it was reported that two injured sailors were evacuated by helicopter, while a crew member who could not be reached due to severe damage to the cabin remained unaccounted for.
After the ship later arrived at Trabzon Port, AFAD and Trabzon Metropolitan Municipality fire crews conducted operations in the damaged living quarters. The body of 54-year-old engine room officer Savaş Çakar, who was trapped under the wreckage, was recovered and taken to the Trabzon Forensic Medicine Institution. The injured sailors were identified as Enes Torun and Ufuk Cihan Yılmaz, who were reported to have been picked up from the ship by a Coast Guard helicopter off the coast of Samsun.
Following the autopsy procedures, a funeral ceremony was held for Savaş Çakar in Derince, Kocaeli. After the funeral prayer, Çakar's remains were buried in Derince.
The location of the attack is reported by some sources as off Novorossiysk, by others as the exit of Taman, or in international waters. The shipowner's statement only uses the phrase 'in the Black Sea.' Although Ukrainian forces announced that they struck several ships in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov around the same dates, no connection has been established between the REYHAN SARI and these operations.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
