A huge rockfall occurred at 3am this morning, crushing the Pınar Büfe cafe, and leaving boulders and debris on Kalkan beach.

Persistent rain over recent weeks is thought to have been a factor in triggering the sheering off, of thousands of tonnes of rock and soil. 

There have been no reports of significant seismic activity in the area.

Casualties unlikely
It is not known if there are any casualties, however given the inclement weather, and the time of the event, it is thought to be extremely unlikely that anyone would have been in the area.

The Mayor of Kalkan, and members of the Belediye Board were at the scene this morning, assessing the damage and co-ordinating the response. 

Noise late at night
Local resident Nick Osborne told KTLN that he heard a loud noise at around 11pm, and despite the late hour, he assumed it may have been nearby lorries. 

In all probability, it may well have been the first signs of landslip.  At 3am Nick says he heard a very loud noise, which he believes was the sound of this catastrophic rockfall. This timing has been confirmed by other local residents.

Below: Our first image is an archive photo of the Pınar Büfe cafe as it used to be. Yesterday, was quite pleasant, and the area around the cafe was full of customers.

Below: And this photo shows the scene this morning. The wooden structure has been totally flattened.

Below: A huge boulder, about 3 metres high, rests on Kalkan beach.

Below: Taken from the road behind Kalkan beach, that leads to Kömürlük.  Tonnes of rock block the road.

Below: Looking back towards the harbour. The extent of the rockfall on to the beach can be seen. Note the man next to the large boulder, which gives you an idea of scale.

Below: This huge boulder fell into the children's playground.

Below: Another view of the spot where the Pınar Büfe cafe once stood.

Below: The view from under the sun shade, looking on to the beach.

Below: The close proximity of the rockfall to the children's playground must be a cause for concern.

Below: The scene, as viewed from the harbour breakwater.

Clearing up - a major task
On the positive side, it looks as though this catastrophic event has passed without any injury.  We should all be grateful for that.  Things could have turned out much worse.

The Belediye will be keen to clear up the damage as quickly as possible, with the main tourist season just a few months away. This will be a major task as there are rocks as high as a house, which will need to be broken down, before they can be removed.  Specialist equipment will be required.

Headache for the Belediye
But for the Belediye, it's not just about removing the debris; it will have to look at the safety implications for the whole area behind the beach, heading towards Kömürlük.

The small road that goes from the harbour to Kömürlük, has a significant rock face running alongside it, similar to the one that has just collapsed, which will give people cause for concern.

Clearly, they are going to have to bring in expert geological engineers to assess the condition of the remaining rock face.  Until such time as the area is declared safe, people would be ill advised to use this road.

Kalkan Turkish Local News - your window on Kalkan Turkey.

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