Skip to main content

Bus crashes and catches fire in western Turkey, killing 8 people, including an infant

ISTANBUL (AP) — A bus crashed and caught fire in western Turkey early Sunday, leaving eight people dead, including a 9-month-old baby boy, local media reported.

The bus, owned by Pamukkale Tourism, crashed into highway barriers in Denizli province at 1:40 a.m. local time while carrying 38 passengers and three staff from Izmir to the Mediterranean city of Antalya, the Demiroren News Agency said.

Some 33 people were injured in the incident. Among the dead were the 50-year-old driver and the father of the infant boy.

Images of the aftermath of the crash showed the burned out frame of the bus by the roadside.

Saturday was the final day of Eid al-Adha. The religious festival usually sees a spike in traffic accidents across Turkey as people travel to visit family and take vacations.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
Read Next Story

Related News

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

Police warn families of Tiananmen crackdown dead not to visit graves on 37th anniversary

Women are the first caregivers in this Ebola outbreak and the most at risk