Two killed, 101 injured after vehicle carrying undocumented migrants in Turkey’s east topples
ERZURUM
Two people were killed and 101 others were injured after a truck carrying undocumented migrants toppled in the eastern province of Erzurum on April 19.
The accident occurred in the early hours of April 19 in Erzurum’s Horasan district.
The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle after he panicked when he saw they were approaching a gendarmerie control point.
133 undocumented migrants fell out of the truck when it veered off the road. Two migrants died after being trapped under the vehicle.
Several ambulances, fire brigade crews, and Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) teams rushed to the scene, taking the injured to nearby hospitals.
An investigation has been launched into the accident and search efforts tightened to find the truck’s driver, who fled the scene.
Turkey is a common transit country for migrants trying to reach Europe.
Turkey on April 8 said it accelerated the deportation procedures for hundreds of Afghan migrants following reports that nearly 20,000 undocumented Afghan migrants had arrived in the country over the past three months, an unprecedented number according to Turkish authorities, most of whom have walked for days from the border to reach Erzurum.
The first group of Afghan migrants, consisting of more than 200 people, left Erzurum on April 8 on a charter flight bound for Kabul, with reports following that a total of 3,000 were planned to be deported from Erzurum alone.
