ANKARA, May 25, (Agencies): Sixteen Russian tourists were killed Tuesday when their bus plunged off a bridge and fell into a stream in Turkey’s Mediterranean province of Antalya, an official said.
The accident was caused by the driver having a heart attack, the Russian tour operator that organised the doomed bus trip said.
“According to preliminary information, the cause of the accident was heart failure of the driver,” the Moscow-based company, Pegas-Touristik, said in a statement on its website.
Television footage showed the vehicle lying upside down in what appeared to be an almost dried-out stream bed.
Rescuers were scrambling through the wreckage “and trying to get the dead and injured out,” Seyman said.
The group was on its way from the Mediterranean resort of Alanya to Pamukkale, a town in Denizli province to the northwest, popular with tourists for its hot springs and white travertines.
In Moscow, President Dmitry Medvedev sent his condolences over the deaths, the Kremlin press service said in a statement to Russian news agencies.
He ordered the ministries of foreign affairs, health and emergencies to help the injured and the relatives of the victims.
“A separate order was given to prosector general Yuri Chaika to join in with the investigation of the Turkish authorities to find out the causes of the tragedy,” the statement said.
Antalya, home of Turkey’s largest holiday villages, is a popular destination for Russian tourists.
About 2.7 million Russians visited Turkey last year, according to Turkish statistics.
In a fresh boost for tourism, the two countries signed a deal mutually lifting visas for stays of up to 30 days when Medvedev visited Ankara earlier this month.
“We woke up as the bus flipped over,” the state-run Anatolia news agency quoted one of the injured passengers, Lena Rasuleva, as saying. “I fell unconscious and opened my eyes in the hospital.”
At least one baby and a toddler were among the injured, including Rasuleva’s daughter, Diana, Anatolia reported.
NTV television, citing local authorities, said the driver was sleeping at the wheel.
Each year, thousands of people are killed in traffic accidents on Turkey’s roads because of careless driving or poor road conditions. Many of the roads consist of just two lanes, are badly lit and poorly patrolled by police.
The bus was traveling from the resort of Alanya, which is popular with Russian and German tourists, to the scenic Pamukkale waterfall near the central city of Denizli.
About 3 million Russian tourists visit Turkey annually. Earlier this month, Turkey and Russia agreed to mutually lift entry visa requirements for visits of up to 30 days in an effort to boost tourism and business.