At least seven people died, and 23 others were injured when a passenger bus en route to eastern Kars veered off the road and overturned into a ravine, the Kars Governor's Office confirmed Sunday.
The passenger bus overturned into the ravine after passing the viaduct near Karakurt village in the Sarıkamış district, on the Erzurum-Kars highway, as per Anadolu Agency (AA) reports.
The bus reportedly flipped over from approximately 50 meters (164 feet) in height.
The accident happened during the morning hours, following which emergency response teams, including health, national medical rescue teams (UMKE), gendarmerie, and fire crews, were swiftly dispatched to the scene.
Ambulances transported the injured to hospitals in nearby Erzurum and Kars. An ambulance helicopter that descended onto the highway airlifted one critically injured person to Erzurum.
The Kars Governor's Office confirmed that five people died in the accident around 7:50 a.m. local time (4:50 a.m. GMT).
"In the accident that occurred because of the passenger bus veering down from the viaduct in the Karakurt location of the Sarıkamış district of our city, five of our citizens died and 23 of our citizens were injured; one of them is in a critical situation. The injured were transferred to Sarıkamış State Hospital, Kafkas University Hospital and Horasan State Hospital," read the statement.
The statement issued by the governorship on Twitter/X later confirmed that the number of casualties rose to seven, adding that the treatment of the injured passengers is underway.
Meanwhile, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz conveyed condolences for the lives lost in the Kars accident on his official social media account.
"I wish God's mercy on our citizens who lost their lives due to a traffic accident in Kars, my condolences to their families, and a speedy recovery to our injured people," Yılmaz said.
The tragic accident occurred at Karakurt-Horasan Road's Taşlı Güney-2 Viaduct, connecting the cities of Kars and Erzurum, which was recently completed in November 2022 and opened for traffic.
The viaduct, measuring 574 meters in length and 120 meters in height, had been an essential infrastructure project in the region.
