At least 35 people were killed in separate incidents in southeastern Turkey when vehicles crashed into vehicles attending earlier accidents, authorities said. Saturday’s accidents happened just 250 kilometers (155 miles) apart in southern Turkey. The first occurred on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip when a passenger bus collided with emergency teams who had responded to an accident in the southeastern province of Mardin, west of Derik. Three firefighters, two paramedics and two journalists were among the 15 killed on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu tweeted. The other eight deaths were on the bus, he added. Twenty other people were injured and treated, regional governor Davut Gul said on Saturday. “Around 10:45 this morning, a passenger bus crashed here,” Gul said, speaking from the scene of the accident on the road east of Gaziantep. “While the fire department, medical teams and other colleagues were responding to the accident, another bus fell 200 meters [219 yards] back. The second bus skidded at this point and knocked the first responders and injured people to the ground.” Television footage showed an ambulance badly damaged [Screenshot/Reuters] Turkey’s Ilhas news agency reported that two of its reporters were killed after pulling over to help victims of the initial crash, in which a car veered off the highway and slid down an embankment. Television footage showed an ambulance with severe damage to its rear, while the bus was on its side next to the motorway. Separately, a truck crashed into a location in Mardin’s Derik district, where first responders were attending to another accident. Speaking from the scene, Soilou said 20 people were killed and 26 injured. A police officer was among the victims and two drivers were arrested as an investigation began, he said. Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency reported that a three-vehicle accident had occurred at the same spot shortly before, and emergency responders were already on the scene when the truck plowed into the crowd. Turkey has a poor road safety record. Some 5,362 people were killed in road accidents last year, according to the government.
