Tourist bus collides with truck travelling on wrong side of road in Turkey, killing 11 people

From the Newshound archive · first published 12 October 2026.

A tourist bus carrying 34 passengers and three crew was struck by a truck loaded with wooden planks on the Gebze-Orhangazi-Izmir highway in western Turkey's Manisa province on Sunday, killing 11 and injuring 27. The truck was reportedly travelling on the wrong side of the road when it hit the bus, which overturned with its rear end severely crumpled. Both drivers were detained by police as an investigation gets underway.

The bus was travelling from Bursa to the coastal city of Izmir when the crash occurred near the Akhisar highway entrance just after 11am local time.

Of the 27 injured, 16 were hospitalised under yellow-code classification, one under red code — signalling critical condition.

Turkey's interior minister Mustafa Ciftci said authorities have yet to confirm whether any foreign nationals were among the dead or injured.