Around 16 killed, 29 injured after truck rams into crowd in Turkey, says Minister

The Turkish Minister of Health has made an announcement on Saturday about the killing of at least 16 people and 29 injured after a truck accidentally rammed into a crowd in a city in southeastern Turkey.

Minister Fahrettin Koca added via Twitter, that, “Sixteen people lost their lives and 29 others were injured, eight of them seriously. The accident took place after the brakes of a truck malfunctioned, causing into a crowd in Derik.”

A video shared by Turkish media shows how a driver lost control of his truck, hitting several vehicles at full speed and pedestrians trying to flee. According to Turkish media reports, an accident involving three vehicles and had occurred at the same location shortly before, and rescue teams were on the scene when the truck drove into the crowd.

Separately, an accident involving an ambulance and a coach earlier in the day left 16 dead and 21 injured on a highway linking the city of Gaziantep to that of Nizip. Several local media agencies reported that an ambulance, a fire truck and a vehicle belonging to a team of journalists were hit head-on by a bus travelling on the same highway.

According to local media, four rescuers, three firefighters and two journalists from the Turkish news agency Ilhas are among the 16 dead. Images released showed the rear of an ambulance partially shredded as well as the coach involved in the accident, lying on one side and with the front ripped open.