Bus carrying 45 Polish tourists crashes in western Turkey, two Turkish men killed

What happened

On Friday, 9 October, at around 14:30, a coach carrying 45 Polish tourists collided with a minibus on the Aydin-Izmir road in the Germencik area of western Turkey. One report says the coach had left Izmir for the holiday resort of Didim, while others say it was carrying tourists from Izmir airport towards Aydin. The force of the impact sent both vehicles through the protective barriers and down an embankment into wooded terrain. Rescue medical teams, firefighters, officers from Turkey's crisis management agency AFAD and gendarmerie were sent to the scene. Prosecutors opened an investigation to establish the exact circumstances and causes of the crash.

Casualties

Two people died, both travelling in the minibus, and both were Turkish citizens. The Turkish news agency DHA identified them as brothers: 58-year-old Ali Şevket Yavuz, who was driving the minibus, and 65-year-old Orhan Yavuz. None of the dead were Polish citizens. Reports on the number of injured Poles differ. On Friday, Turkish media, citing the daily Hurriyet, reported nine Polish passengers hurt, and by Friday evening the paper described their condition as good. Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Maciej Wewiór told Polish Radio that seven people were injured. On Saturday morning RMF FM reported that one person remained in hospital while six others with light injuries needed medical help.

One injured person has a broken leg and must stay in hospital, while the others have left the facility and are under the care of the travel organiser. The figures given on Friday describe the situation directly after the crash, while the Saturday update describes a later stage of treatment.

Conflicting accounts of the cause

Accounts of how the collision began differ. Turkish reports cited by Polish outlets say the driver of the minibus lost control and struck the coach. Another version, based on preliminary findings, is that the minibus was trying to join traffic from the emergency lane. The Turkish news agency DHA named the coach driver as 44-year-old Erkan Elalmış. The prosecution's investigation will establish the exact causes, and no date for its conclusions was given in the reports.

Assistance for the tourists

All Polish passengers are under the care of the travel company that organised the trip. The company's staff helped the injured and the other passengers after the crash, and the injured were taken to nearby hospitals by ambulance. The Polish consul is in contact with the group and is taking part in the assistance efforts for Polish citizens abroad. Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Maciej Wewiór spoke to Polish Radio about the case. The next steps depend on the findings of the Turkish investigation, which has not yet set out the causes.