A coach bus and a tow truck collided in Manisa, Turkey: 11 people died, while 27 were injured

Eleven people were killed and another 27 injured on Sunday after a coach collided with a tow truck near the Akhisar interchange in Manisa province, western Turkey. The accident occurred shortly after 11:00 a.m. local time on the motorway.

The coach was traveling on the Bursa–Izmir route. The Manisa provincial administration announced that emergency teams had been dispatched to the scene and that the injured had been taken to hospitals.

The exact cause of the collision is not yet known. Vahdettin Özkan, the provincial governor, said that emergency operations were continuing under the coordination of prosecutors and stressed the importance of obeying traffic rules.

The coach driver, who was injured in the accident, was treated at a private hospital in Akhisar. After being discharged, he was detained by gendarmes. The other injured people remain under medical observation.

Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi described the victims as “our citizens.” However, it is unclear whether all those involved are Turkish citizens or whether there were foreign nationals among the passengers.