The two tragedies occurred at the scene of accidents that occurred shortly before.
The first, involving an ambulance and a bus, left 15 dead and 31 injured on a highway linking Gaziantep city to Nizip city, according to the governorate of Gaziantep province, which earlier on Saturday reported 16 deaths in the accident.
According to the Turkish DHA news agency, an ambulance, a fire truck and a vehicle of a team of journalists – which had gone to the scene of an accident – were hit head-on by a passenger coach traveling on the same highway.
Three rescue workers, three firefighters and two journalists from the Turkish news agency Ilhas are among the 15 dead, according to local media.
Images released by the DHA agency showed the rear of a partially shredded ambulance as well as the coach involved in the accident, lying on one side and with the front ripped open, testimonies of the violence of the shock.
The bus driver was heard Saturday evening by the gendarmes of the province of Gaziantep in order to clarify the circumstances of the tragedy, according to DHA.
– Truck without brakes –
A few hours later, 19 other people were killed and 26 others injured 250 kilometers further east in an accident involving a heavy goods vehicle and several vehicles, according to Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.
“The number of people who lost their lives in the accident (…) has unfortunately increased to 19. The number of injured is 26, including six in serious condition”, indicated the minister on Twitter, referring to rising an initial death toll of 16.
“The accident (is) occurred following the breaking of the brakes of a truck which hit a crowd in Derik”, in the province of Mardin, had previously detailed Mr. Koca.
Videos broadcast by the Turkish press show a driver losing control of his truck and hitting several vehicles at full speed and pedestrians trying to flee.
According to Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency, a traffic accident involving three vehicles had occurred at the same location shortly before, and rescue teams were on the scene when the truck drove into the crowd.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag announced on Twitter the opening of two investigations into these tragedies.
“I wish mercy (…) to our citizens who have lost their lives. All our means are mobilized”, he wrote on the social network, wishing a “speedy recovery to the injured”.
Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu was due to visit the scene of the second accident on Saturday evening on the orders of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Anadolu Agency reported.
