Turkey: At least 35 people were killed in separate accidents at accident sites | News

At least 15 people were killed in Gaziantep Province and 20 others were killed in Mardin Province in separate incidents.

Authorities said at least 35 people were killed in separate incidents in southeast Turkey when vehicles collided with first responders attending previous accidents.

Saturday’s accidents occurred 250 km in southern Turkey.

The first happened on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip when a passenger bus collided with emergency teams responding to a crash in Mardin province, southeast of Derik.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu wrote on Twitter that three firefighters, paramedics and journalists were among the 15 killed on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip. He added that the other eight dead were on the bus.

District Governor Daoud Gul said on Saturday that 20 others were injured and received treatment.

“At around 10:45 this morning, a passenger bus crashed here,” Gul said, speaking from the scene on the road east of Gaziantep.

While firefighters, medical teams and other colleagues were responding to the accident, another bus crashed 200 meters away [219 yards] behind. The second bus skidded to this location and hit the first paramedics and the wounded on the ground.”

Turkish news agency Ilhas said two of its journalists were killed after they were arrested to help victims of the initial accident, in which a car skidded off the highway and skidded on a bridge.

Television footage showed an ambulance badly damaged in the rear as the bus was lying on its side next to the highway.

Separately, a truck crashed into a site in the Derek area of ​​Mardin, where the first responders were having another accident.

Speaking from the site, Soylu said 20 people were killed and 26 wounded. He said a police officer was among the victims, and two drivers were arrested and an investigation was opened.

Turkey’s official Anadolu Agency said an accident occurred at the same location shortly before between three cars, and that emergency responders were already at the scene when the truck hit the crowd.

Turkey has a poor road safety record. The government said about 5,362 people were killed in traffic accidents last year.