Sapanca AFAD team put 8-month-old Zeynep to sleep on a rope after rescuing her from flood

A downpour that began Wednesday evening in Fevziye Neighborhood of Sapanca, Sakarya, caused the stream running through the area to overflow and the bridge to collapse. A total of 8 people—including one baby and one child, along with 2 women—were trapped in a bungalow beside the stream.

When AFAD Search and Rescue in Nature (DAK) teams dispatched to the area saw that roads were closed, team leader Murat Ergül and technician Mert Çömlekçioğlu swam across to the nearest opposite bank and set up a rope system. Ergül first helped the mothers and children across; he calmed 5-year-old Ayaz by speaking of his own child.

In the final phase of the operation, 8-month-old Zeynep's sleep was interrupted. Ergül held the baby in his arms, soothed her with soft sounds, and put her back to sleep. Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi shared the incident on his official account and commended the personnel.

During the Sakarya flood in October of the previous year, AFAD had evacuated 14 people from the area; this time, because the bridge was destroyed, teams could not use the standard evacuation route and deployed the rope method instead.