31.05.2026 19:01
In the Sarayköy district of Denizli, 8 people, including a baby, died and 33 were injured when a passenger bus caught fire after crashing into barriers. The initial statements of the injured have emerged. It was learned that in their statements to the gendarmerie, the injured said that about 20 minutes before the accident, the driver pulled the bus over to the roadside due to a malfunction, performed a check, and then continued on the road.
In the Sarayköy district of Denizli, 20 minutes before the accident that killed 8 people, including a baby, it was revealed that the bus driver had stopped to check the vehicle due to a malfunction.
HIT BARRIERS AND CAUGHT FIRE: 8 DEAD, INCLUDING A BABY
The accident occurred around 01:30 near the Tırkaz neighborhood of the Aydın-Denizli Highway. The passenger bus with license plate 45 BAH 834, belonging to Pamukkale Turizm and driven by Mustafa Fevzi Merdün (50), which was on the Izmir-Antalya route, went out of control and hit the roadside barriers. A fire broke out in the bus due to the impact.
Upon notification, health, AFAD, UMKE, police, fire, and gendarmerie teams were dispatched to the area. The fire was extinguished in about half an hour with the intervention of fire crews. It was determined that bus driver Mustafa Fevzi Merdün and passengers Civan Şen, his 9-month-old son Eyüp Miraç Şen, Hayriye Arıkan, Merve Erik, Zehra Eyiol, Kyrgyz national Güli Tayboya, and Fatma Kartal lost their lives under the control of health officials. It was learned that during the incident, father Civan Şen covered his 9-month-old son Eyüp Miraç Şen to protect him.
17 OF 33 INJURED DISCHARGED
The 33 people injured in the accident were taken to nearby hospitals by ambulances after initial first aid. It was reported that 17 of the injured were discharged after treatment, while 16 people are still undergoing treatment and 2 of them remain in critical condition.
DNA ANALYSIS FOR THE DECEASED
It was reported that the identities of those who died in the fire in the accident will be definitively determined through DNA analysis. In this context, blood samples were taken from relatives arriving at the Forensic Medicine Institute in Denizli from Izmir and Antalya. It was learned that after the DNA analyses are completed, the bodies will be handed over to their families, and the process could take about a week.
STATEMENTS OF THE INJURED REVEALED: STOPPED 20 MINUTES EARLIER DUE TO MALFUNCTION
It was learned that most of the passengers were sleeping during the accident. In the initial statements given to the gendarmerie by the injured, it was revealed that bus driver Mustafa Fevzi Merdün had pulled the bus over to the roadside about 20 minutes before the accident due to a malfunction that occurred while traveling on the highway, got out to check it, and then continued on his way. The investigation into the accident continues.