Eight people were killed when a passenger bus crashed and caught fire in western Türkiye as millions of travelers began returning home at the end of the nine-day Eid al-Adha holiday, causing severe congestion on highways, airports and major transport hubs across the country.
The intercity bus was traveling from the western city of İzmir to the southern province of Antalya when it struck roadside barriers in Denizli province and burst into flames. Authorities said 37 passengers and three crew members were on board.
Eight people died in the fire, among them a nine-month-old baby, while others were injured and taken to nearby hospitals.
The crash occurred as heavy return traffic intensified nationwide following the end of the Eid holiday.
Long queues formed on major routes leading to Istanbul, particularly on the motorway through the northern province of Bolu, where vehicles were reported to be moving at speeds as low as 20 kilometers per hour in some sections. Traffic also built up on the TEM highway and the Istanbul-İzmir motorway as holidaymakers returned from coastal destinations in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions.
In the southwestern city of Muğla’s touristic Bodrum, thousands of vehicles left the popular holiday destination, creating lengthy queues on roads leading toward Milas. Similar congestion was reported around the districts of Fethiye, Marmaris and Datça.
The central city of Kırıkkale, known as a key road junction linking 43 of the country’s 81 provinces, also experienced heavy traffic as returning travelers crowded the Ankara-Samsun and Kırıkkale-Kayseri highways.
Air travel also reached record levels. Officials at Istanbul Airport said the facility handled around 289,000 passengers and 1,748 flights in a single day, marking the busiest day in the airport’s history.
The return rush also led to severe crowding at Istanbul’s main intercity bus terminal, where transport operators added extra services to meet demand.
Elsewhere, several fatal road accidents were reported during the holiday period.
In the southwestern province of Burdur, four people were killed and 11 were injured in a chain-reaction crash involving four vehicles on the Isparta-Antalya highway.
Authorities also reported multiple fatal crashes in provinces including Adıyaman, Kilis, Malatya, Mersin, Kars and Uşak. On the eighth day of the holiday alone, traffic accidents across the country claimed 24 lives and left dozens injured.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said road safety measures had been intensified during the holiday period, emphasizing that the government’s priority was preventing loss of life rather than issuing penalties.
