10 dead, 40 injured in traffic accident on southern Turkish motorway

Ten people were killed and 40 others injured in a collision between an intercity bus and three other vehicles on a highway in southern Turkey on Sunday, state broadcaster TRT reported.

The bus, which was traveling from Diyarbakır to Istanbul, collided with a van and two other vehicles in the Tarsus district near Mersin on the Mediterranean coast.

“Ten people were killed and 40 injured, nine of them seriously, in a traffic accident involving a coach on the Mersin-Adana highway. The injured are being treated at Mersin City Hospital, Mersin Tarsus State Hospital and Adana Çukurova State Hospital. I express my condolences to the families of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery,” said Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya also made a statement about the accident.

“A passenger bus travelling from Diyarbakır to Istanbul collided with two cars and a truck on the highway near Yenice in Mersin province. According to initial reports, unfortunately 10 people were killed in the accident. I express my condolences to the families of the deceased and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” he said.

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç made a statement about the accident on his social media account.

“The fatal chain reaction accident on the TAG highway near Yenice in Tarsus district has shocked us all deeply. The Tarsus Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation and three prosecutors have been assigned to the case.”