“Everything is under control” were the last words spoken by the tragic Turkish businessman Halit Yukai moments before a cargo ship cut his boat in half and sank with him into the Sea of Marmara.
His close friend, Kivanç Tatlıtuğ, a well-known Turkish actor, testified to the authorities as he was the last person to communicate with the businessman.
“We were talking on the phone just before the accident. The call was made at 5:09 PM via WhatsApp for 37 seconds. He sounded very relaxed. He told me everything was fine and that the weather wasn’t bad. He said he was approaching Marmara and planned to be in Bozcaada before nightfall.”
His friend then asked about his exact location to calculate the time when suddenly he heard a loud crash and the line went dead.
“I asked him about his exact location. Then I heard a sound like strong wind and the call was cut off. I called him back many times but couldn’t get through. I thought then that his battery had died.”
Turkish media revealed the successive calls he made without response, with everything indicating that the fatal incident occurred a few minutes after 5 PM, specifically at 5:09 PM.
The body remains at the bottom of the sea
Efforts to recover the body continue for the 5th day.
The operation is considered extremely difficult due to weather conditions and the state of the body after 24 days at the bottom of the sea.
Meanwhile, it has been shockingly revealed that at the time of the collision, the crew of the large ship was busy with a barbecue they were having at the stern of the vessel.
The sailors’ testimonies are telling.
“They said they would have a barbecue around 4:00 PM. Our barbecue was on the right stern. I lit a fire with chopped wood. The chef brought the materials. I saw pieces of the boat floating on the right side. The entire crew came up on deck. Around 5:20 PM, after the ship maneuvered to the right, it continued on its course. I saw a life preserver on the sea surface but didn’t report it anywhere because I thought the captain would notify authorities.”
The crew members claim they left the scene around 5:20. Given that Yukai’s call was abruptly terminated at 5:09, it appears that the cargo ship that rammed and sank the businessman’s boat abandoned him 11 minutes after the fatal collision.
His wife in shock
While one revelation follows another, his wife Rania is still in a state of shock. She was waiting for him in Greece so they could go on family vacation to Mykonos when she suddenly lost all communication.
The Turkish press is focusing on the businessman’s Greek wife, with whom the 43-year-old had two young boys.
What a Greek friend of the Turkish businessman declared
The businessman who lost his life had two close friends, a well-known Turkish actor and a Greek friend. The Greek friend told MEGA:
“We vacationed together in Kythnos. We return to Athens, stay 2 days and he leaves to get the boat from Turkey. He would make a stop in Mykonos to meet a mutual friend, a famous Turkish actor, and we would all go on vacation together in Antiparos.
“The accident happened in the Sea of Marmara, two hours after he started from Turkey. There was no one on the bridge when the accident occurred. The accident happened at 5:09 because at that moment he was talking to our friend, the Turkish actor, on the phone. Obviously Halib went down to the cabin to talk, he probably wouldn’t have heard anything. I sent him a message at 5:31, he never received it.
“The accident happened at 5:09 because at that moment they were talking to the actor and suddenly the signal was cut. The accident happened, the actor didn’t imagine that something had occurred and that he had collided with a ship. At 5:10 he calls him again, no answer. At 5:11 he sends him a message and he didn’t receive it. The phone was already in the water. At 3 o’clock I spoke to him. He tells me I’m starting in half an hour. And I told him to call me if he needed anything.”
