Several serious accidents occur in the Turkish region of Anatolia. Among other things, the brakes of a truck failed.
Update from Saturday, August 20, 9:27 p.m .: Turkish authorities have given more information about the bus accident. At least 32 people died in two serious traffic accidents in south-eastern Turkey on Saturday. 50 others were injured in the separate accidents, Turkish media reported.
The first accident, which killed 16, occurred between Gaziantep and Nizip in south-eastern Anatolia. According to the Turkish news agency DHA , an ambulance, a fire engine and a vehicle belonging to a journalist team, all of which were traveling to the scene of an accident, were hit head-on by a bus. 21 people were injured in the accident.
Another accident in Derik: the truck crashes into a crowd
A few hours later, another accident happened 250 kilometers to the east. In the city of Derik, Mardin province, a truck crashed into a crowd when its brakes failed, Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter. At least 16 people were killed. 29 other people were injured, eight of them seriously.
Video footage released by Turkish media showed the truck smashing into several vehicles at full speed and pedestrians trying to flee. Shortly before, another accident involving three vehicles had occurred at the scene of the accident, according to the state news agency Anadolu . Therefore, rescue workers were already on site when the truck driver lost control and drove into the crowd.
Bus accident in Turkey: at least 16 dead
First report from Saturday, August 20: Gaziantep – A bus accident occurred in Turkey on Saturday (August 20). It happened between Gaziantep and Nizip in southeastern Anatolia, according to provincial governor Davut Gul. At least 16 people died. It is not yet clear how many injuries there are.
Gül said three firefighters, two paramedics and two journalists were among the fatalities. So far, the police have said very little about the course of the accident. The rescue workers were actually there because of another traffic accident. The bus accident was a secondary accident, it said in the first statements. The bus rolled over and hit the ambulance, among other things.
Bus accident in Turkey: More information will follow
The injured are now being treated in nearby hospitals. The Turkish authorities want to announce more information about the bus accident during the course of Saturday.
Photo and video recordings by the state news agency Anadolu Ajansi show the extent of the damage. (do with dpa/AFP)
