An AFAD rescue worker stands beside the wrecked minibus on the Van—Özalp highway in eastern Türkiye.
Nine Iranian nationals died and five people were injured when a truck collided with a passenger minibus on a rain-slicked highway in Türkiye’s eastern province of Van on Nov. 7.
The crash occurred around 7:30 p.m. at the 49-kilometer mark on the road from Van to Özalp. Witnesses alerted emergency services after the collision wrecked the Iranian-registered minibus.
Five women and four men died. Medical teams treated the injured, three women and two men, at the scene before taking them to a hospital.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said disaster agency AFAD, the National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE), ambulance crews, firefighters, police and gendarmerie responded immediately.
“We are closely following the situation with the relevant agencies,” Çiftçi said in a social media post, offering condolences to the victims’ families.
Van borders Iran and serves as a gateway for cross-border travel.
