Empty extinguisher causes death: Officer

KAYSERİ - Anatolia News Agency

Five convicted and arrested prisoners were killed when they were trapped inside a burning police van in Kayseri on Sept 16, 2011. DHA photo

A police car that burst into flames in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri in 2011, killing five prisoners, had a broken door and an empty fire extinguisher, according to a private gendarmerie soldier who testified yesterday.

Private M.Ç., testified to the court president pursuant to the interlocutory decision taken in a previous trial by the Kayseri 1st Court for Serious Crimes.

“One hour before the fire, the car’s door system broke down. We called technical services and they said we could keep going by belting the doors. The car was sent to technical services a few days before setting out, however its problems were not fixed. If the car had been fixed, this tragedy would not have happened. We did our best to save the prisoners. Even the fire extinguisher did not work during the fire,” M.Ç. said.

S.O., the substitute driver of the car, said that the fire erupted due to a battery and electrical equipment malfunction, according to the expert report.

Five convicted and arrested prisoners were killed when a police van transferring them to Istanbul burst into flames in the Pınarbaşı district of Kayseri on Sept. 16, 2011. In the indictment, 2 to 15-year prison sentences were demanded for the driver and two officers on the charges of reckless homicide.