Turkey bus crash kills 21

Originally published on January 24, 2014

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At least 21 people were killed in a bus accident near the Turkish town of Pinarbasi early Thursday morning (January 23). Turkish news reports said the passenger bus, which was carrying as many as 50 passengers, veered off a snow-covered highway, overturned and flipped on its side. Hospital officials say the death toll could rise as some of the injured are in critical condition.

Orhan Duzgun, the governor of the Turkish province of Mus, told the media that the tour bus was travelling between Istanbul and the central province of Kayseri early on Thursday when the fatal accident occurred. Initial reports indicate that most of the victims were Turkish nationals.

CNN reported that most of the dead were found under the overturned bus. One passenger told CNN she was sleeping with her baby in her lap and when she woke and found herself underneath the bus, unable to locate her child. At least one of the victims was a child.

Speculation as to the cause of the accident included driver error, with the private Dogan news agency reporting that police are considering the possibility that the driver may have fallen asleep.

By late Thursday morning, Turkish rescue workers and police had recovered most the deceased, but the process of identifying the dead and injured is ongoing.

Weather conditions could also have played a role, but authorities said the scene is still under investigation and few facts as to the cause of the crash are known.

Traffic accident rates are high in Turkey, with thousands of fatalities reported each year, most attributed to unsafe driving, inadequately enforced road laws and, in some regions, poorly maintained roads.

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