In a devastating accident near the Ankara district of Polatli, a passenger bus collided with a bridge pillar, leaving at least nine dead and 26 injured.
The bus, operated by Oz Agri Ses Turizm, was travelling from Izmir to Agri when it went off the road and crashed into the pillars near Olukpınar village in the early hours of the morning. The license plate number of the bus was given as 04 AAV 951, but the identity of the driver has not yet been confirmed.
Rescue workers, including firefighters, immediately arrived at the scene to rescue those trapped in the bus. The injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitals for medical treatment.
The governor of Ankara, Vasip Sahin, confirmed the first figures on the victims and mentioned that the road where the accident occurred was closed to traffic.
The bus was fast
A witness, Murat Turkoglu, who was driving behind the bus, described the moments before the accident: “We left Temelli together and drove closely behind each other. The bus was driving a bit fast and about three to four kilometers from here it started to swerve before crashing into the bridge. Debris from the bus hit our vehicle. We turned on the indicators and honked, but the driver did not notice.”
The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
