Deaths on Turkey's roads as national vacation starts

By Huseyin Varlik

ISTANBUL (AA) - Five people died in a traffic accident in Turkey’s northwestern Bolu province on Saturday, a law enforcement official said, at the start of a nine-day national holiday.

An articulated truck carrying paint-thinner burst into flames after it crashed into the guard rail at the entrance to a highway tunnel near Mengen, a town around 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of the capital Ankara, a gendarmerie officer said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The driver and four other people in the truck were killed and two people travelling in a car also involved in the accident were injured.

Next week is the holiday of Eid al-Fitr to celebrate the end of Ramadan and people have taken to the highways to spend the vacation with their families or at coastal resorts.

Nationwide holidays in Turkey are usually marred by a spike in the number of road deaths despite prominent warnings from the authorities about the dangers of reckless driving.

Last year, nearly 70 died on Turkey’s roads during Eid al-Fitr.

* Tuncay Kayaoglu contributed to this report from Istanbul.