'Brit' tourist 'attacked' on busy beach after refusing to use sunlounger
A tourist who decided not to buy a sunbed was beaten up by a resort worker on a popular Turkish beach, it has been reported.
The fight broke out on Damlatas Beach in the Alanya district of Antalya and was watched by crowds of tourists. A sunseeker had been enjoying the rays and asked a resort employee how much sun lounger rentals cost, Milliyet reported.
The tourist decided the price was too high and forgoed the sunbed, opting instead to put his things on the sand. The worker then asked him to remove his belongings and leave the resort. At this point, the fight broke out.
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The violence was caught on video. The clip shows several men swarming around a man in swimming trunks who falls to the floor as they beat him. He struggles to get off the sand onto his feet as they continue the pummelling. Several sunworshippers lounging on towels nearby watched on, clearly shocked by the outbreak of violence.
Alanya District Governor Fatih Ürkmezer said that the sunbed business had been closed following the fight.
"Judicial and administrative procedures regarding the attack on a tourist that occurred in a beach business in Alanya in recent days, which does not reflect our city and our understanding of tourism, have been initiated immediately," he told local media, clearly concerned about the impact the fight and video of it could have on tourism to the area.
"Approaches that are contrary to the understanding of hospitality of both our city and our country will not be tolerated in Alanya, one of the cities where tourism first began in Turkey."
Business owner Serhan Koçaroğlu sent a written statement to the press following the incident, giving his version of events. He claimed that the incident occurred outside the beach borders of his business and that the beaten man had provoked the attack. Mr Koçaroğlu also said that the tourist was Russian and not British, as some local media outlets have suggested.
"A Russian tourist, under the influence of alcohol, threw a sunbed at our Turkish customer sitting in a lodge on our beach. When I went to intervene, I was physically attacked by the tourist in question," Mr Koçaroğlu said.
"The scuffle that broke out when some citizens and Turkish customers on the beach reacted after they saw me being beaten was recorded. There is no footage of the beginning of the incident. Also, it is not legally possible to have security cameras on the beach."
Mr Koçaroğlu said that he decided not to contact police following the incident as he did not want to damage the reputation of Alanya, Milliyet reported.
The sunbed scuffle was the first major lounger-related incident to make news of the summer season. However, there are bound to be plenty more as families head out to swimming pools and beaches across southern Europe for a spot of sunshine.
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