Twenty-six illegal migrants, including five children, were injured yesterday when a minibus carrying them overturned in the eastern province of Elazığ. The migrants, all Afghan nationals, were traveling to Istanbul in the west when it overturned. The minibus driver fled the scene after the accident while the migrants were hospitalized.

Turkey recently saw a rise in the number of Afghan migrants arriving through its eastern borders. Since January, 71,000 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan have been intercepted. The country has stepped up measures in the face of a growing and unprecedented influx of illegal migrants from Afghanistan who cross into the country via Iran. Illegal migrants fleeing from the pressure imposed by Daesh and the Taliban, have been crossing into Turkey on foot for many days, hoping for a better life. Once in Turkey, they board buses and cars arranged by smugglers to travel to big cities in western Turkey. Some try to cross into Europe through Turkey's western borders, often by dinghies to Greece by way of the Aegean Sea, while others stay in Istanbul and other cities.