67 killed, 341 injured in traffic accidents in Turkey during Eid al-Fitr

ISTANBUL

Some 67 people lost their lives and 341 were injured in road accidents across Turkey this year during Eid al-Fitr, or Ramadan holiday, Doğan News Agency has reported.

A total of 84 accidents occurred from the eve of Eid al-Fitr on June 14 to the last day of the holiday on June 17, covering a period of four days.

On June 14, in a total of 23 accidents, 22 lost their lives and 70 were injured.

On the first day of Eid al-Fitr on June 15, eight people were killed and 77 others were injured in a total of 21 road accidents across the country.

On June 16, 12 people were killed in 25 accidents and 82 were injured. The next day, the last day of Eid al-Fitr, 12 people were killed and 82 were injured in 16 accidents.

In one accident that day, which occurred at around 9:15 p.m. in the Central Anatolian province of Karaman, 46 people were injured and three others were killed when an inter-city bus lost control and tipped over.

Gendarmerie Command has tightened traffic control on the roads during Eid al-Fitr this year, deploying thousands of officers equipped with drones, helicopters, and smart glasses.

“During the festive holiday, we will be on the roads with 8,000 gendarmerie traffic teams, 17,000 gendarmerie traffic officers, two helicopters and 37 unmanned aerial vehicles [UAV],” said Col. Şinasi Güçlü, Traffic Services Department Head of the Turkish Gendarmerie Command, on June 14.

“We will carry out the inspections and control continuously,” he told state-run Anadolu Agency during inspections in the Akhisar district of the western province of Manisa.

The number of people traveling during the holiday was estimated to be over 2.5 million.