31 people killed, more than 190 wounded in traffic accidents across Turkey at start of Eid al-Fitr

ISTANBUL

Some 31 people were killed and more than 190 were wounded in traffic accidents across Turkey at the beginning of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on June 25.

Traffic was snared as people took to the roads to visit their relatives in provinces across Turkey, causing a high volume of traffic across the country due to three-daily Eid al-Fitr holiday. 

In one incident, five people were killed after a vehicle driven crashed into a truck on the road between the Central Anatolian province of Sivas and the northeastern province Erzincan on June 24. 

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım was on the road to his hometown Erzincan at the time, and reportedly stopped his vehicle to take information from the police about the accident.

Another deadly accident occurred in the Aegean province of Uşak on June 24, when two vehicles collided in the Fatih neighborhood, killing one of the vehicle’s drivers. 

Two people, including one child were killed in an accident involving a motorcycle and an automobile in the Aegean province of Manisa on June 24, while four people were hospitalized following the accident.

Two sub-lieutenants who were recently discharged from their posts were also killed in an accident en route to the Central Anatolian province of Niğde on June 24, Doğan News Agency reported. The vehicle carrying the passengers, including the soldier, lost control afte the driver fell asleep at the wheel. The vehicle collided into the road barriers, killing 27-year–old Abdulkadir Işıkolay and 24-year-old Metin Durmaz at the scene.

Also on June 24, a vehicle toppled into a stream in the Aegean province of Kütahya on the 8th kilometer of the Tavşanlı-Tunçbilek road, killing a mother and her five-year-old daughter. The 29-year-old Şengül Akyıldız and her daughter Zehra Akyıldız drowned in the Adranos stream after the accident, while the driver of the vehicle was also lightly injured.   

Another deadly accident occurred in the Black Sea province of Gümüşhane on June 24, after two vehicles collided, killing one person and injuring six others. 

In the southern province of Mersin on June 24, a concrete mixer toppled after failing to negotiate a bend in the road, killing driver Suat Yaşar. Officials stated that he had another accident three months previously in the same place but he was wounded.   

Meanwhile, crews from the traffic branch of police headquarters in the northern province of Tokat started an original new method to try to avoid possible traffic accidents, offering cologne, water and candies to drivers in the province’s Niksar district. Drivers were also directed to sports equipment provided by the crews, where they were able to relax their muscles and regain their concentration before continuing to drive.