Muscat – The family of Fawzi al Rawahi – an Omani who fell into a river near the city of Ayder in northern Turkey and has been missing since – and Turkish authorities are still hopeful of finding him.

Fawzi, 48, was on a visit to Turkey with a group of friends in June, when he went missing.

According to Ismail Ustaoglu, Governor of Trabzon, who is currently on a visit to Oman, search operations by Turkish authorities continue. “I cannot say condolences to the family because there is always hope. However, there is no information on his whereabouts until now,” he said.

“Fawzi al Rawahi was in Trabzon before he went missing from the riverside in Rize, a nearby wilayat. He may have been washed away into the Black Sea or got stuck somewhere. It is difficult to say. In fact, after Fawzi, two Turkish citizens also went missing from the same area.”

Ustaoglu informed that bodies of people who earlier went missing have been found on beaches in Georgia or Russia.

“I wish we can do something about fencing the rivers but they are in such a way that it is difficult to do so. What the authorities do is make sure to put up warning signs about the dangers of the place because these locations are frequented by many tourists.”

Ustaoglu met Fawzi’s family including Abdulhaleem al Rawahi, Abdullah al Rawahi and Maamoun al Rawahi, at the Turkish Embassy in Muscat on Tuesday.

According to Abdulhalim, Fawzi’s absence has left a vacuum in his town. “He was the imam of Samail wilayat mosque. Well known in the community for his community spirit, calm nature and kind heart, Fawzi set an example for all,” Abdulhalim said.

“Even though Fawzi’s whereabouts are still unknown and we don’t know his fate, we are hopeful that one day we will get information about him,” he said.