Bus falls off viaduct in Türkiye's Kars: 5 dead, 23 injuries
At least five people lost their lives, and 23 others were injured when a passenger bus en route to eastern Kars veered off the road and overturned into a ravine, Azernews reports via Turkish media outlets.
The passenger bus overturned into the ravine after passing the viaduct near Karakurt village in the Sarıkamış district, on the Erzurum-Kars highway, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported Sunday.
The bus reportedly flipped over from approximately 50 meters (164 feet) in height.
The accident happened during the morning hours following which emergency response teams, including health, national medical rescue teams (UMKE), gendarmerie, and fire crews, were swiftly dispatched to the scene.
Ambulances transported the injured to hospitals in nearby Erzurum and Kars. An ambulance helicopter that descended onto the highway airlifted one critically injured person to Erzurum.
The Kars Governor's Office confirmed that five people lost their lives in the accident that occurred around 7:50 a.m. local time (4:50 a.m. GMT).
"In the accident that occurred because of the passenger bus veering down from the viaduct in the Karakurt location of the Sarıkamış district of our city, five of our citizens died and 23 of our citizens were injured, one of them is in a critical situation. The injured were transferred to Sarıkamış State Hospital, Kafkas University Hospital, and Horasan State Hospital," read the statement.
The accident occurred at Karakurt-Horasan Road's Taşlı Güney-2 Viaduct, connecting the cities of Kars and Erzurum, which was recently completed in November 2022 and opened for traffic.
The viaduct, measuring 574 meters in length and 120 meters in height, had been an essential infrastructure project in the region
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