Turkey placed three other planes underwater for the same reason, and this 47-ton, 177-foot craft is the largest to date. Officials hope that the Airbus will function as an artificial reef to attract fish and encourage scuba and snorkeling activities.
Özlem Çerçioğlu, the mayor of Kusadasi, a resort town south of Izmir where the sinking occurred said, "We expect some 250,000 domestic and foreign tourists per year to come here for diving. With the project, Kusadası will hopefully close this summer … with the fewest losses and make the people of Kusadasi and the people in this business smile." Agence France-Presse reported that witnesses were "cheering and blasting their foghorns."
See the video below.
