At least 31 people have been killed and many others injured in the first five days of the nine-day Qurban Bayram (Eid al-Adha) holiday.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu shared the information on his social media accounts on Wednesday.

He also shared the message "Fasten your seat belts on the way back," referring to people returning to major cities from their holidays.

Soylu underlined that at least 15 people were killed a day in 12 fatal accidents on average in the previous nine-day holidays in Turkey over the last decade.

"This Qurban Bayram, the daily average of fatal accidents was four and the loss of life was six in the five days including the eve of bayram but unfortunately 31 of our citizens lost their lives," he said.

Thousands of people are either visiting their loved ones or going to vacation spots during this nine-day bayram holiday. Despite the measures, many traffic accidents occur due to overspeeding, reckless driving and congestion on the roads.

To dissuade drivers from breaking road safety laws, the Interior Ministry issued directives to the governorates of 81 provinces, primarily to increase the presence of traffic police units throughout the nation.

For the duration of the holiday, more than 210,000 members of the security forces are on duty to monitor adherence to regulations, including the use of seat belts.