117 injured in metrobus collision in Istanbul during rush hour

Some 117 people were on Sept. 9 injured in a collision of four Istanbul metrobuses -- long buses that use reserved lanes.

Saturday September 10 2022 02:19 pm

Duvar English

Four metrobuses, Istanbul's long buses that ride on reserved lanes, on Sept. 9 collided, injuring 117 people on board.

Four metrobuses collided near the metrobus stop of Şükrübey in the Avcılar district at 6.38 p.m. local time. Upon the accident, many health, fire and police teams were sent to the scene.

The accident also resulted in mass pile-ups as both of the reserved lanes had to be temporarily closed.

“We currently do not have any life-threatening passengers,” the Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnel General Management (İETT) announced on late Sept. 9.

Avcılar’daki kazada ne yazık ki 85 yaralımız var. Yolcularımızın tedavileri devam ediyor, yakından takip ediyoruz.
Şimdilik hayati tehlikesi olan yolcumuz bulunmuyor. Metrobüs hattını açma çalışmamız da tamamlanmak üzere. Kazanın sebebi teknik ekiplerce araştırılıyor.
— İETT (@ietttr) September 9, 2022

The prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the incident.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on Sept. 10 announced that one of the drivers of the metrobuses had fainted, leading to the accident.

“We have found out from the records of the accident, the images we obtained and the sound recording that the driver screamed, 'I am bad, call an ambulance.' He actually passed out and the bus slipped towards the side lane, causing a head-on collision,” İmamoğlu said.

“About 117 people were transferred to hospitals. As of now, I can say that just over 10 of our patients are staying in the hospital,” he said.

İmamoğlu pointed out that only two of the injured, drivers of the metrobuses, had undergone surgery and that their health situations are currently good.

İmamoğlu added the municipality also launched an investigation into the incident.

Meanwhile, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Youth Branch members shot a video on the accident site.

In the video shared on social media, a woman said, "Two metrobuses collided head-on in a very terrible way. There are thousands of injured, the number of dead is unknown.”

The remarks of the AKP Youth Branch member drew huge criticism on social media.

Metrobüs kazası sonrası olay yerine giden AK Parti Gençlik Kolları üyesi bir grup: ‘Binlerce yaralı ve sayısı belli olmayacak kadar ölü var.’ pic.twitter.com/eRx4jLA2tZ
— İBB Haber (@ibbhabercomtr) September 9, 2022