Highway pileup kills 16 in Turkey’s Southeastern Gaziantep

Two consecutive traffic accidents killed 16 and injured 22 on a highway connecting Turkey’s southeastern cities of Gaziantep and Adana, state media reported.

The firefighters and medical teams were responding to a car accident and journalists were investigating the scene when a fast moving large passenger bus overturned and sweeped everyone present, Anadolu Agency reported.

Three firefighters, two medical workers and two journalists were among the dead, Governor of Gaziantep Davut Gul said in a tweet.

The governor said the bus slided for 200 meters before crushing the people around.

“This is not an accident, this is a catastrophe,” said Yigit Dedeoglu, an expert on road safety.

Dedeoglu highlighted the need to properly take precautions saying "the road should have been been completely closed to traffic after the first accident," adding that sleep-deprived bus drivers with low levels of vigilance are the greatest problem in the transportation industry.