Seven dead, 72 injured in three bus accidents on Ankara highway

KIRŞEHİR – Doğan News Agency

AA Photo

Seven people have been killed and 72 injured after three buses full of passengers were involved in traffic accidents on the highway connecting Ankara with the neighboring province of Kırşehir on Jan. 4.

The first accident occurred when a bus driver lost control of his vehicle and rolled over the shoulder following many days of icy weather near a Turkey Drivers’ Society service station at around 9:30 a.m. 

Six passengers died at the scene while 23 wounded passengers were taken to the Ahi Evran University Hospital, where one of the wounded travelers succumbed to their injuries. The names of the dead passengers have yet to be released.

The initial death toll in the accident was given as nine, but it was later revealed that two passengers whose hearts had stopped beating were resuscitated in the ambulance.

Later in the day, two other passenger buses crashed on the same highway, injuring a total of 50 passengers. 

One bus traveling toward the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri was involved in an accident where 23 people were wounded, two seriously. 

Another bus traveling south from Ankara toward Kahramanmaraş province also slid on the icy highway, injuring 27 passengers.