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Man killed 40 years ago found after fig tree grows from seed in his stomach

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Man killed 40 years ago found after fig tree grows from seed in his stomach

A researcher got curious as the tree was unusual for that area.

Published: Wed 26 Sep 2018, 11:43 AM

Updated: Wed 26 Sep 2018, 2:39 PM

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Skeletal remains of a missing Turkish man, who was murdered over 40 years ago, were discovered after a fig tree grew from a seed in his stomach.
The man identified as Ahmet Hergune was killed during the conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in 1974. He had been taken into a cave with two others and a dynamite was thrown after them. The dynamite killed the three men and also blew a hole in the side of the cave which allowed light to seep in. This, in turn, allowed the fig tree to grow from the Hergune's body, according to reports in MSN.
In 2011, the tree was spotted by a researcher who became curious to know how the tree grew in the cave, especially in a mountainous area. While carrying out his research and digging around the tree, the researcher found a human body underneath. On digging further, police recovered a total of three bodies.
Hergune's 87-year-old sister, Munur Herguner, said: "We used to live in a village with a population of 4,000, half Greek, half Turkish. In 1974, the disturbances began. My brother Ahmet joined the Turkish Resistance Organization. On June 10, the Greeks took him away."
Hergune was believed to have had eaten the fig, and blood samples from Munur's family matched DNA fragments. "The fig remnants in my brother's stomach grew into a tree as the sun crept into the cave through the hole made by the explosion. They found my brother thanks to that fig tree," Munur added.
Launched in 1981, the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus has been searching for 2,002 people who disappeared on the Mediterranean island between 1963 and 1974.



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