At least 13 people killed, 20 injured in bus accident in Turkey’s Çorum

ÇORUM

At least 13 were killed and 20 injured in the central Anatolian province of Çorum when a bus slammed into a truck and burst into flames in the early hours of March 13, CNN Türk has reported.

The authorities fear the death toll may rise.

A bus on route from İstanbul to Tokat slammed into a truck from behind near the Osmancık district of Çorum at around 6.00 am on March 13 and then caught fire.

Osmancık Mayor Hamza Karataş initially said 10 people had died and 18 others injured in the accident, though CNN Türk later raised the death toll to 13.

Firefighter teams and ambulances have been dispatched to the scene.

The truck was parked in the emergency lane when the bus hit the vehicle, the Çorum Governor’s office said in a statement.

“The accident occurred on the Istanbul-Samsun D-100 highway at 05:35. An investigation regarding the accident is currently underway and futher information will be shared with the public after the investigation is completed,” the statement added. 

Firefighter teams, units from the local gendarmerie forces and ambulances are at the scene, carrying out operations under the supervision of the local public prosecutor. 

It is reported that since the bus was completely burnt out, it was difficult to determine the exact number of casualties. 

Those injured in the accident have been taken to two nearby hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Council of Europe (CoE) has expressed condolences over the deadly accident. 

“We think of the families and friends of the victims of this terrible accident,” Daniel Holtgen, a spokesperson of CoE Secretary General Thorbjrn Jagland, wrote on his official Twitter account on March 13. 

“We express our heartfelt condolences to our member state Turkey,” Holtgen said.