Bus accident kills 14 returning from school trip

OSMANİYE

DHA photo

At least 14 people, including six children, were killed on June 5 when a school bus plunged off a road and into a canal in the southern province of Osmaniye. 

The bus had been carrying pupils from 5 July Elementary School, as well as a number of their parents and teachers, back from an excursion to the well-known archaeological site of Karatepe outside of Osmaniye to the İskenderun district of the southern province of Hatay when it flipped over into a canal, killing five students, one baby, one teacher, six parents and the driver.  

The bodies of the victims were transported to the İskenderun State Hospital’s morgue early in the morning and later taken by their families, some of whom experienced psychological breakdowns. 

Due to the accident, the Hatay Governor’s Office suspended education in the school for a day. As the relatives of the students, who were all third graders, visited their classroom in the school, a commemoration was held for the victims at İskenderun’s Atatürk Memorial Area.  

“We have lost the most beloved teachers, students, partners, friends and children. May they rest in heaven,” said teacher Fatma Tirek, who was on the bus when the accident occurred. Tirek said the excursion was planned to be an end-of-term picnic by the parents.   

Beritan Geyik, Baver Geyik, Nehir Uludağ, Bahadır Karakurt, Meral Sarı, Yağmur Keskin, Umut Ayas, Merve Pembe, Ahmet Cebeci, Sultan Geyik, Sevgi Ayas, Nur Seviner, Müzeyyen Keskin and Feruşah Esen lost their lives in the accident. 

Meanwhile, another bus accident in the Central Anatolian province of Yozgat killed three people and wounded 15 others when it flipped over on June 6.

The passenger bus en route from the western province of İzmir to the Central Anatolian province of Sivas hit a barrier and plunged off the road before flipping over. 

Passengers Muhammet Fatih Yıldırım, Betül Gandemir and Zerrin Danyeli lost their lives in the accident, while the injured were taken to nearby hospitals.

Another traffic accident occurred on early June 5 on a highway between the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa, killing six people, including three children, from same family. 

Four others, also from the same family, were seriously injured in the accident, which occurred when the driver lost control of the vehicle allegedly due to falling asleep while driving. While the victims including the driver lost their lives at the scene, the injured were taken to several hospitals in Diyarbakır. 

Police found that the victims and the injured were members of the Sağlar family and at the time of the accident, they were returning from Hatay to their hometown of Yüksekova in southeastern Hakkari province following the lift of curfews and anti-terror operations in the town.