Seven killed after shuttle carrying workers, light commercial vehicle collide in Turkey’s Bursa

BURSA – Doğan News Agency

Seven people, including two children, were killed and more than 10 were injured early on Sept. 7 after a shuttle bus carrying factory workers collided with a light commercial vehicle in the northwestern province of Bursa. 

The accident occurred at around 7 a.m. in the Babasultan point between Bursa’s Kestel and İnegöl districts on the Bursa-Ankara highway.  

Those injured were immediately taken to nearby hospitals. 

The workers are said to have been traveling from central Bursa to İnegöl to lay asphalt for road maintenance on behalf of a construction firm. More than 10 workers on the shuttle were injured. 

Seven family members in the light commercial vehicle belonging to them were killed after their bodies scattered next to a nearby farm. It is claimed that the driver of the vehicle, 26-year-old Ali Gültekin, fell asleep at the wheel. 

The Gültekin family was reportedly living in the northwestern province of Kocaeli’s Gebze district and was traveling home from the Black Sea province of Tokat, where they had spent the Eid al-Adha holiday. 

The Bursa-Ankara highway was temporarily closed to traffic, causing a 5-km queue of vehicles. 
 
An investigation has been launched into the incident. 

Meanwhile, in the eastern province of Van’s Özalp district, six people were killed and three were injured after two cars collided head-on on Sept. 7. The injured were then taken to nearby hospitals in the province and traffic on the Van-Özalp road was temporarily closed to traffic.

Separately, three people, including two children, were killed and 43 were injured in the Central Anatolian province of Yozgat’s Akdağmaden district when a coach overturned on Sept. 6 at around 10.50 p.m. 

The bus was reportedly on its way from the eastern province of Ağrı to the western province of İzmir. The cause of the accident is unknown.