At least one person was pronounced dead and 13 others were injured in a collision this morning outside the western coastal city of Izmir, Turkey‘s third largest city, after a small bus and a van collided head-on.
Turkish media reported that the accident occurred at around 8:00 local time (7:00 CET) on the highway between Izmir and Ankara as it passes through the Armutlu neighbourhood in the Kemalpaşa district. Reports indicate that a minibus carrying a group of agricultural workers and travelling in the direction of Turgutlu collided head-on with a van travelling in the opposite direction on the motorway. Initial investigations indicate that the driver of the minibus lost control of the vehicle for unknown reasons and drove into the oncoming lane.
The force of the head-on impact caused severe damage to both vehicles and resulted in the immediate death of the van driver, identified as Veysi Ekin, 45, while the minibus driver and 12 passengers were injured to varying degrees and taken to local hospitals for treatment.
After the emergency services were alerted, numerous police, fire brigade and gendarmerie personnel, as well as medical staff, were sent to the scene. The fatal collision forced a temporary road closure and the diversion of traffic in the direction of Turgutlu on a single lane. It is being investigated whether the driver of the minibus, 49-year-old Mehmet Budak, may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
Road collisions and traffic accidents claim thousands of lives in Turkey every year. According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), last year alone 6,351 people died in road accidents in the country, while in the last decade road accidents have claimed the lives of 62,761 people and left 3,024,470 injured in Türkiye.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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