Five people, including two sanitation workers, were injured, two of them lightly, in a multivehicle traffic accident in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul.
The chain-reaction crash involved 10 vehicles, including two Private Public Buses affiliated with the Istanbul Electric Tram and Tunnel Company (IETT) and a garbage truck.
The collision occurred on Tarlabaşı Boulevard, where two IETT-affiliated Private Public Buses, a garbage truck, four light commercial vehicles, two taxis and a car collided for reasons yet to be determined.
Emergency services, including fire, medical and police teams, were dispatched to the scene upon receiving reports of the incident.
Among the five injured in the pileup were two sanitation workers. While three of the injured were taken to hospitals by ambulance, the remaining two received outpatient treatment on-site. It was later reported that one of the hospitalized sanitation workers was in serious condition.
Eyewitness Hüseyin Demirci told reporters that one of the IETT buses, which he said was speeding, struck the garbage truck and then hit the two sanitation workers behind it.
Demirci added that the bus then hit a series of other vehicles, including taxis and light commercial vehicles, with the force of the impact drawing more vehicles into the crash.
Beyoğlu District Governor Atakan Atasoy visited the crash site to conduct an on-site inspection.
Authorities later completed the removal of all vehicles from the area. Following the clearance, the previously controlled traffic flow on Tarlabaşı Boulevard returned to normal.
Beyoğlu District Police launched an investigation into the accident and took the driver of the Private Public Bus, 61-year-old F.A., into custody.
The crash was captured on surveillance cameras from nearby businesses. In one recording, the IETT bus is seen dragging a light commercial vehicle, while people in the vicinity rush toward the scene.
Another camera shows the bus hitting a commercial vehicle before crashing into a taxi, which in turn collides with another light commercial vehicle ahead of it. That vehicle is seen being pushed onto the metal divider in the middle of the road, while pedestrians scatter to avoid the chaos.
According to a statement issued by IETT, the Private Public Bus involved in the accident was operating on the Taksim-Ataköy line and several civilian vehicles were also affected by the crash.
The statement added, "An administrative and technical investigation into the Private Public Bus accident has been immediately launched by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, IETT and law enforcement teams. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and IETT are closely following up with citizens affected by the accident."
