Flash floods kill three in Istanbul after the heaviest rainfall the city has recorded since 1942

Three people died in Istanbul's flash floods: a 14-year-old who received a fatal electric shock after stepping into a puddle in a park, a 34-year-old who slipped on a pavement, and a third person whose body was recovered near a park in the Kagithane district. Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said more than 2,700 stranded residents were evacuated as torrential rain turned streets into rivers and swept cars away. Four people remain missing, schools across Istanbul are shut until Monday, and residents in basement flats were urged to move to higher floors.

Istanbul governor Davut Gul said the city had seen its highest precipitation since records began in 1942, with some areas recording their worst rainfall since 1985.

Video footage captured parked cars tumbling into fast-moving floodwater, commuters climbing onto bus seats as water surged through vehicle interiors, and sparks erupting from a flooded roadworks trench.

Forty-three inbound flights were diverted from Istanbul Airport and motorcycle traffic was banned across the city as the downpour continued into Thursday morning.