Eight killed in car crash in Turkey’s east

AĞRI – Doğan News Agency

The bus with the Iranian license plate, as seen after the accident. DHA Photo

Eight people have been killed in a head-on collision between a bus and a light commercial vehicle on the highway connecting the eastern Turkish province of Ağrı with Iran.

A bus with an Iranian license plate traveling from Iran to Ağrı’s Doğubayazıt district collided with a commercial vehicle moving toward Turkey’s Gürbulak border crossing with Iran at 5 a.m. on Nov. 16.

The accident occurred on a highway where traffic is currently down to a single lane due to road maintenance work.

Bodies of seven people who died at the scene of the accident were trapped inside the car and could only be retrieved after the arrival of the fire squad. 

Meanwhile, a wounded traveler was transferred to the Doğubayazıt State Hospital for treatment. 

Reports indicate that the driver of the Iranian bus fled the scene after the accident, along with his passengers. 

An investigation has been launched into the incident and police have started a search to locate the drivers.

All victims have been identified by the police. İsmet Sarıhan, who was the driver of the commercial vehicle, Nuri Tosun and his brother Fahrettin Tosun, Mehmet Şahin, Ahmet Sökmen, Kasım Kutlu and Fevzi Gültekin are the seven who lost their lives in the accident. 

İbrahim Eraslan was heavily injured but succumbed to his wounds later at the hospital, raising the death toll of the accident to eight.