More than 30 people were also injured in the accident
Credit: Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Eight people died, including a 9-month-old boy and his father, after a bus crashed into highway barriers and caught fire on a highway in Turkey
- Thirty-three people were also injured in the incident
- The burned bus was removed and the road was reopened to traffic about four hours after the highway was closed
Eight people died, including an infant and his father, after a bus crashed and caught fire in western Turkey.
On Sunday, May 31, a bus owned by Pamukkale Tourism crashed into highway barriers in Denizli province around 1:40 a.m. local time, according to the Associated Press, TRT Haber and AzerNews.
The vehicle was carrying 38 passengers and three staff members from Izmir to the Mediterranean city of Antalya.
According to TRT Haber, the bus burst into flames shortly after it collided with the highway barriers near the Tirkaz neighborhood on the Denizli-Aydin Highway.
Credit: Google Maps
Following the report, 112 Emergency Medical Services, AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority), UMKE (National Medical Rescue Team), police and the fire department were immediately dispatched to the scene.
While fire crews were able to extinguish the fire, the 50-year-old driver, Mustafa Fevzi Merdun, died alongside seven passengers.
The passengers included Merve Erik, Fatma Kartal, Gülitay Boğa, Zehra Eyiol, Hayriye Arıkan, Civan Şen and his 9-month-old son Eyip Miraç Şen.
The bodies of the deceased have since been taken to the Denizli Group Presidency of the Forensic Medicine Institute morgue for an autopsy, per TRT Haber.
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Credit: Getty
Thirty-three people were also injured as a result of the incident and were taken to nearby hospitals by ambulance.
In photos from the incident, the charred frame of the bus can be seen sitting on the side of the road as rescue teams survey the scene. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
Approximately four hours after the highway was closed due to the accident, the burned bus was removed and the road was reopened to traffic in the direction of Denizli.
The accident occurred on the final day of the four-day Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, which often sees an increase of traffic in Turkey as people travel to visit their family and take vacations.
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