Flash floods kill 27 in Turkey's Black Sea region

Flash floods that hit three provinces in Turkey's Black Sea region have left 27 people dead, the country's disaster management authority said on Friday, reported Xinhua.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency said that 25 people died in Kastamonu province and two others in Sinop province, while one person went missing in Bartin province.

Rescue workers evacuated more than 1,700 people by boat and helicopter, it said. Nearly 1,000 people took shelter in student dormitories.

However, some media reported the number of missing at 100.

"This is the heaviest flood disaster I have ever seen," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters on the scene.

Soylu said the damage in infrastructure was significant, and efforts to bring life back to normal continued nonstop.

Videos aired by broadcasters showed extensive damage in the area, including collapsed buildings, damaged bridges, heavy debris along the roads, and cars piled up.