At least 12 people have been killed and 31 others injured – three seriously – in a multi-vehicle crash in southern Turkey, officials said.
The incident happened on Saturday evening in the province of Hatay – one of the regions most affected by a earthquake earlier this year.
The pileup occurred when a truck driver lost control on the Iskenderun-Antakya highway, crossing the opposite carriageway.
The truck collided with nine cars and two minibuses, the official Anadolu news agency reported.
Many vehicles were parked by the side of the road near a petrol station as friends and relatives waved goodbye to men leaving for compulsory military service.
Private news agency Demiroren said the lorry was carrying excavated earthquake rubble and hit another lorry before crossing the motorway at around 7pm local time (5pm UK time).
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said fires broke out and tweeted that 22 ambulances and three medical rescue teams had been sent to the scene in Topbogazli.
“May God have mercy on our fellow citizens who lost their lives, I express my condolences to their loved ones,” he said. “We will do our best to restore the injured to their health as soon as possible.”
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Witness Ali Sarrac said some of those killed were burned alive, Anadolu reported.
Footage showed burning vehicles as emergency crews tried to move people away from the blaze.
Hatay – which is near the Syrian border – was one of the hardest hit in the 11 Turkish provinces affected by an earthquake which devastated parts of Turkey and Syria February 6.
The disaster is the worst in Turkey’s modern history with a death toll of at least 50,783, according to the country’s government.
