6 killed, 33 injured in traffic accident in northern city

KASTAMONU

A traffic accident has claimed the lives of six people and left 33 others injured as an intercity passenger bus overturned in the northern province of Kastamonu.

With the accident occurred on Jan. 26 at around 5:50 a.m., authorities have yet to determine the precise cause of the rollover of the bus carrying passengers from Istanbul to the northern city of Sinop.

Providing information about the accident and conducting on-site investigations, Kastamonu Governor Meftun Dallı noted that three of the injured were in critical condition.

Dallı emphasized that the exact cause of the accident would be ascertained through an examination, revealing that the bus skidded off the road before overturning. Following meteorologists' warning of intense snowfall, teams had undertaken salting efforts on the road, the governor said.

He noted that in certain areas, the amount of salt might have been insufficient, potentially contributing to the fatal accident.

"Salt measures were taken before the snowfall, but despite that, there may be areas where the salt was inadequately applied. In those places, icy conditions might have occurred, but we cannot determine a cause at the moment," Dallı remarked.

The Jan. 26 accident comes at a time when fatal incidents involving passenger buses have been on the rise across the country. Last week, nine people were killed in a traffic accident in the southern province of Mersin that occurred at the exit of a tunnel, with the slippery road surface due to rain considered among the contributing factors of the incident.