Sixth Bus Fire in Two Weeks

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

A fire broke out in a bus around Bolu on the way to İstanbul. Because the fire was noticed earlier, all the passengers were evacuated and no one got hurt.

Sabri Ç. was driving the bus the plate number of which is 34 FA 7999. Going to İstanbul from Çorum, the bus burst into flames around Cankurtaran, Bolu. Passengers noticed the smoke inside the bus and warned driver, who pulled the car over the side of the road. All the passengers were evacuated. Firefighters who came from Ankara and Gerede extinguished the fire.

Mustafa Siviş, a passenger, told reporters, "We left the facility where we stopped for a break. There was smoke in the vehicle. Drivers tried to do some things themselves but they didn't work. Then the inside of the bus was covered with some. They got off the bus and began to evacuate the bus. No one was hurt."

Siviş said that the bus was already overheated when it stopped for a break.

Two-week toll of intercity bus fires

* On August 2, a fire broke out in a passenger bus owned by Kamil Koç company while it was en route on Balıkesir-Edremit Highway. Five passengers have lost their lives.

* On August 3, a passenger bus owned by Metro Turizm company burst into flames in the district of Kırkağaç in Manisa. While no one has lost their lives or got wounded in the incident, the fire has left the bus unusable.

* On August 4, a fire broke out in a passenger bus owned by Metro Turizm while it was en route from İzmir to İstanbul. No one has died in the incident.

* On August 6, a similar incident took place on the Yatağan-Milas highway in Muğla. After the engine of the bus caught fire, the driver stopped the bus and evacuated the passengers on board.

* On August 9, a fire broke out in the bus owned by Metro Turizm. The bus was going from Hatay to İstanbul with 44 passengers, who were evacuated after the driver stopped on the roadside. Firefighters extinguished the fire, the bus became unusable. (HA/VK)