62 killed, 319 injured in traffic accidents across Turkey in first six days of Eid al-Adha
ISTANBUL
AA photo
Some 62 people lost their lives and 319 were injured in road accidents across Turkey in the first six days of the 10-day long extended Eid al–Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) holiday, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Aug. 30.In first six days of Eid al-Adha, 103 traffic accidents occurred due to excessive speed and carelessness across Turkey despite tightened security measurements.
Most accidents involving death occurred on Aug. 31. Three people in the Black sea province of Samsun, two people in the northern province of Karabük, Marmara province of Bursa, Kocaeli and Sakarya, central Anatolian province of Çorum were killed in the accidents.
A total of 13 people were killed, 67 of them were injured in 25 different accidents in Istanbul, in the Aegean provinces of İzmir and Aydın, the Black Sea provinces of Ordu, Trabzon and Amasya.
The death toll in car accidents across Turkey rose to 62 from 41 in one day.
On the fifth day of the holiday alone, Aug. 30, 12 people were killed and 78 were injured in accidents across the country, the agency stated.
In a first this year, the Interior Ministry has been sending warnings to drivers via text message to their mobile phones when they stop on roads that are particularly prone to accidents. The message reads: “You are on a road where a high number of fatal accidents occur on holidays. Please abide by the rules. Do not exceed the speed limit. Fasten all seatbelts. Eid Mubarak.”
The ministry has also used Twitter to warn drivers, especially of heavy vehicles and buses, about road accidents.
