ISTANBUL: At least 32 people were killed and dozens were injured in two separate road accidents in Turkiye on Saturday, each in places where collisions took place earlier in the day, local media reported.

A first crash involving a bus and an ambulance killed 16 people and injured 21 more on a motorway in Gaziantep province, while at least 16 people were killed and nearly 30 injured after a truck driver hurtled into pedestrians in Derik in Mardin province.

Governor Davut Gul said earlier the first accident involved “a bus, an emergency team and an ambulance” on the route between provincial capital Gaziantep and Nizip.

Pakistan condoles deaths

The DHA news agency said a passenger bus had crashed into an ambulance, a firefighting truck and a vehicle carrying journalists at the site of a previous crash. Four paramedics, three firefighters and two journalists from Turkey’s Ilhas news agency were among those killed, local media reported.

As the emergency services were attending an earlier incident at the site, at least 16 people were killed and nearly 30 injured after a truck driver hurtled into pedestrians in Derik in Mardin province, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca confirmed. The accident in “occurred after the breaks gave out on a lorry, which hit a crowd”, Koca wrote on Twitter.

Soon after the first accident, Pakistan’s Foreign Office in a statement condoled loss of life in the tragedy.

The FO spokesperson said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic traffic accident in Gaziantep, Turkiye, resulting in the loss of a number of precious lives and injuries to many more. We seek Allah Almighty’s blessings for the departed souls, and pray for swift recovery of the injured. We also convey our deepest condolences to the brotherly people and Government of Turkiye in this hour of sorrow.”

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2022