There are several serious accidents in Turkey. The Minister of Justice announces an investigation.
Update from Sunday, August 21, 8:30 a.m .: At least 34 people died in two serious accidents in Turkey on Saturday. Nearly 60 others were injured. The traffic accidents occurred independently of each other.
The first accident, which killed 15, occurred in south-eastern Anatolia, between Gaziantep and Nizip. Information about the number of injured people was reported differently. While the AFP news agency reported 31 injuries, citing the provincial government of Gaziantep, the German press agency reported 22 injuries, citing the governor of the province. The number of deaths had previously been given as 16, but the provincial government later corrected the balance. According to the Turkish news agency DHA , an ambulance, a fire engine and a vehicle of a journalist team, all of which were traveling to the scene of the accident, were hit head-on by a bus in the traffic accident. The driver of the bus was questioned by local police on Saturday night about the circumstances of the accident, according to the DHA .
Several hours later, 250 kilometers to the east, the second traffic accident happened: in the city of Derik (Mardin province), a truck crashed into a crowd. According to initial findings by the police, the brakes on the truck probably failed, as explained by Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca. Koca initially reported 16 deaths, later he announced that the number of victims had “unfortunately increased to 19”. 26 other people were injured.
The Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag announced investigations into both accidents. “All our resources are mobilized,” he said on Saturday evening.
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-east 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 20th: Gaziantep – A bus accident occurred in Turkey on Saturday (August 20th). 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)
