Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Turkey: Crashes at emergency sites kill at least 35 people

Emergency and rescue teams attend the scene after a bus crash accident on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022. (IHA via AP) Emergency and rescue teams attend the scene after a bus crash accident on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022. (IHA via AP)
Share
ISTANBUL -

Turkish authorities on Sunday investigated a pair of secondary crashes at emergency sites that killed at least 35 people the previous day. In both cases, first responders tending to earlier collisions were among the dead.

Saturday's tragedies happened just 250 kilometres (155 miles) apart in southern Turkey. The first happened on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip when a passenger bus collided with emergency teams that had responded to a crash in Mardin Province, west of Derik.

Three firefighters, two paramedics and two journalists were among the 15 people killed, according to Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, Eight of the victims were from the bus, he said.

The Ilhas News Agency said two of its journalists were killed after pulling over to offer help to people involved in the initial accident, in which a car came off the highway and slid down an embankment.

Television footage showed an ambulance with severe rear damage and the bus turned on its side along the highway. Gaziantep Gov. Davut Gul said 22 people were injured in the secondary crash.

The other incident happened late Saturday afternoon in Derik after the brakes of an articulated truck failed, causing it to crash into two other vehicles near a gas station.

As first responders worked at the scene and crowds gathered to watch, another truck lost control and ploughed into them.

Speaking from the site, Soylu said 20 people were killed and 26 injured. A police officer was among the victims, and two drivers were detained as an investigation was launched, he said.

Turkey has a poor record of road safety. Some 5,362 people died in traffic incidents last year, according to the government.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.

The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced its latest Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin – made entirely from gold sourced from a single mine in northern Ontario

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.