ISTANBUL, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Turkish authorities on Wednesday ordered an investigation into whether missing Russian swimmer Nikolai Andreevich Svechnikov may have reached the shore after disappearing during an international race in Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on Sunday.
The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office instructed the Istanbul Police Department to form a search team, noting that Svechnikov might not have drowned and could have exited the water at a point other than the designated finish line.
Police were also ordered to review security camera footage from public institutions, hotels, cafes, restaurants and parks along the shoreline.
Svechnikov, a 29-year-old professional coach, disappeared after taking part in the 6.5-kilometer 37th Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race, which attracted 2,820 athletes from 81 countries.
Since Sunday, divers from the Istanbul Police Department's Marine and Port Branch have been conducting underwater searches in the strait, one of the world's busiest waterways. ■
