MOSCOW, Jan 21 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- The tattoos on the body of a man found in the Bosphorus are similar to those of missing Russian swimmer Nikolai Svechnikov, his mother, Galina Svechnikova, told Sputnik/RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
On Tuesday morning, the body of an unknown man was found in the Bosphorus Strait, not far from where Svechnikov had gone missing.
"Based on the tattoos, we are being told that yes… it is him with about 80 per cent certainty," Svechnikova said.
On Wednesday, parents of the swimmer said they were travelling to Istanbul to take part in the body identification procedure.
"Our relative was not allowed to identify him, so at the moment we do not know whether it is him or not… We are going to submit DNA samples," Svechnikova said before departing for Istanbul at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport.
The body was wearing a wetsuit, she added.
Svechnikov, who holds the Russian sporting qualification Candidate Master of Sports, went missing on August 24 while competing in the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim. The search for him was terminated in 2025, but the investigation is ongoing.
Last year, Svechnikov's mother offered a reward of 500,000 Turkish lira (US$11,550) to anyone who had information about her son's whereabouts.
-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI
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