UPDATE - At least 1 killed in Turkey’s Black Sea region floods

UPDATES INTERIOR MINISTER'S STATEMENT; REVISES DECK, LEDE; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Gultekin Yetgin and Tugba Yardimci

GIRESUN, Turkey (AA) - One person was killed, an elderly woman injured while others were early Sunday in floods triggered by heavy rain in Turkey's Black Sea province, according to officials.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said reports of 12 people missing in floods in the northeastern province of Giresun were registered, and search and rescue teams have been mobilized from surrounding provinces, as well as Ankara, to the area.

Soylu, who arrived at the scene, said five gendarmerie officers and an excavator operator also went missing after a 5-meter (16-foot) high culvert collapsed from floods in the region.

Efforts to rescue 20 people continue at a wedding hall in Dereli district and guests were taken to a safe place.

A group of 20 people are trapped on a highway but teams have not been able to reach them.

Soylu cautioned that initial statements may be different “than what we will say in the morning" because the wider picture of the disaster will be seen better with the first light from the sun.

He refered to information received from the state meteorology authority and said rainfall, which started Saturday, reached 137 kilograms (302 pounds) of density and affected districts, but warned that 50 to 100 kilograms (110 to 220 pounds) of rainfall is expected in the Canakci, Gorele and Dogankent districts Sunday.

Earlier, Giresun's Governor Enver Unlu told Anadolu Agency about a number of stranded people who have not been identified and several people have been rescued by teams.

He said efforts to get to those who are stranded would begin at first light in the morning and crews are working on opening access to roads and vehicles and heavy equipment are waiting for waters to recede before they enter.

Flood waters caused vehicles in Dereli to drift and buildings were also destroyed in the area, while security forces are trying to confirm reports about missing persons, he said.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced that rescue teams were dispatched to Giresun during the initial minutes of the natural disaster.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara