Turkey: The Turkish Minister of Health announced on Saturday that about 16 individuals had been killed and 29 injured after a truck accident rammed into a crowd in a city in southeastern Turkey.
Minister Fahrettin Koca mentioned on Twitter, “Sixteen people lost their lives and 29 others were injured, eight of them seriously. The incident occurred after the brakes of a truck malfunctioned, causing it to crash into a crowd in Derik.”
Videos captured by the sources, a driver losing control of his vehicle, hitting several vehicles at full speed as well as pedestrians trying to flee. As per the information shared by the sources, an accident involving three vehicles took place at the same location shortly before, and rescue teams were on the scene when the truck drove into the crowd.
Separately, an accident involving an ambulance and a coach earlier in the day which left 16 dead as well as 21 injured on a highway linking the city of Gaziantep to that of Nizip. The sources reported that an ambulance, a fire truck and a vehicle belonging to a team of journalists were hit head-on by a bus travelling on the same highway.
According to the sources, about four rescuers, three firefighters and two journalists from the Turkish news agency Ilhas are among the 16 dead. The images released by the DHA agency showed the rear of an ambulance partially shredded and the coach involved in the incident that took place, lying on one side and with the front ripped open.
