5 migrants die in road accident

VAN

At least five migrants were killed and 37 others injured when a truck carrying them overturned in eastern Turkey.         

The incident took place in the Tuşba district of Van province and the identity of the truck driver is yet to be ascertained.         

Two National Medical Rescue Teams and 11 ambulances were sent to the scene.         

The injured persons have been taken to hospitals in the province.  

The driver of the truck, a Turkish national, was not injured in the accident. It has been reported that the driver might have jumped out of the truck before the truck overturned. The driver has been detained by the gendarmerie.

An investigation has been launched into the incident.

The irregular migrants, Afghan and Pakistani nationals, were reported to have been brought into Turkey by human smugglers. The migrants were first brought to the coast of Van Lake. From there, they were taken to Van’s Erciş district. Their next destination was reported to be Turkey’s western provinces.

According to data compiled by Anadolu Agency, at least 50 irregular migrants lost their lives on their way to Europe through Turkey in 2019.

Most of the deaths took place on the Turkish-Iranian border, where 32 migrants froze to death while trying to cross to Van from Iran.

Turkey has been the main route for refugees trying to cross into Europe, especially since the beginning of the civil war in Syria.

Some 268,000 irregular migrants were detained in Turkey in 2018, according to the Interior Ministry.

The migrants were mostly Afghan, Pakistani, Syrian and Iraqi nationals.