Turkish flood deaths reach 55 as dispute arises over the missing

Workers clear the mud from a street in Bozkurt (AP)

The death toll from severe floods and mudslides along Turkey’s Black Sea coast has climbed to at least 55, the country’s emergency and disaster agency said Saturday, as authorities disputed reports that hundreds of people were missing.

Torrential rains that pounded the Black Sea provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu and Sinop on Wednesday caused flooding that demolished homes, severed at least five bridges, swept away cars and rendered numerous roads unpassable.