10.05.2026 12:08
In the Alaplı district of Zonguldak, a 2-year-old girl who crawled onto a public bus was noticed by driver Gündüz Çimen. The child, who went missing due to her family's carelessness, was safely returned to her family.
In the Alaplı district of Zonguldak, while her family entered a phone store, a 2-year-old girl crawled onto a private public bus. Driver Gündüz Çimen, who noticed the child while heading home, recounted the incident. Çimen said, "I bought my bread and was heading home when I stopped at a traffic light. I heard a child's voice from the vehicle. I was shocked. The child was crying, she was 2 years old, couldn't speak. She was crying, screaming."
The incident occurred the day before yesterday at the Alaplı district private public bus stop. Gündüz Çimen, the driver of the public bus arriving from Karadeniz Ereğli to Alaplı, got off the vehicle to buy bread after pulling into the stop. Meanwhile, the 2-year-old girl crawled onto the bus, which had its door open, and sat in the back seat. As Çimen got back on the bus and started heading home, he heard a crying sound, looked back, and noticed the child.
HE CALMED THE CHILD AND HANDED HER TO HER FAMILY
Çimen calmed the crying child and reported the situation to the authorities. The moments were recorded by the vehicle's security camera. Returning to the garage office, Çimen took the child to the teams. Through the teams' work, it was determined that the child had left her family while they were at the phone store. The family, who had applied to the municipal police, learned that the child was at the garage office. Çimen handed the child over to the family when they arrived. It was reported that the child's family is of Afghan nationality.
'EITHER SHE WAS FORGOTTEN OR SHE GOT ON HERSELF'
Gündüz Çimen, a 25-year veteran driver and also the headman of Gökhasan village, said, "I left Ereğli around 6:30 PM. I arrived in Alaplı and dropped off my passengers. I pulled my vehicle into the platform and went to buy bread. I was going home with my bread. I bought my bread and while continuing toward my home, I stopped at a traffic light. I heard a child's voice from the vehicle. I was shocked immediately. The child was crying, she was 2 years old, couldn't speak. She was crying, screaming. I stopped, went to the back and looked. There was a little girl in front of the five-seat bench. I was shocked when I saw her. I picked her up from there and brought her to my side to calm her. Then I turned back and came to the spot where the child had boarded. I looked around to see if her family was there. There was no one. I called the station president Adem Durmuş and explained, 'Either she was forgotten or she got on herself.' I came to the office, and we called the police with Adem Bey. The police came, and meanwhile, her family had applied to the municipal police saying, 'Our child is missing.' Half an hour later, the family came, and we asked with the police, 'Where was she, how did it happen?' Her mother had entered a phone store across from our Site stop, and her father was in front of the store, saying he was holding her hand, but the child suddenly broke free, and at that moment, my car door was open, and the child got in. We handed the child over to the parents there. They thanked us, thankfully."
'I WAS TRULY SHOCKED'
Çimen, who said he was shocked when he heard the child crying, stated, "It's indescribable, I was truly shocked. My work was done, there were no passengers in the bus. Suddenly, when the child started crying, I was shocked. A person doesn't know what to do, with the moment of it. I was shocked. It's not something that can be described. How can a mother and father let go of a 2-year-old child's hand? How can she disappear from sight? I was shocked, but my greatest happiness is that I handed the child over to her family without any harm coming to her."
'THE FAMILY HAD APPLIED TO THE MUNICIPAL POLICE'
Adem Durmuş, President of the Alaplı Private Public Buses Station, said, "Our colleague Gündüz Çimen, who found the child, called me and said, 'A child has been forgotten on the bus.' I said, 'Bring the child to the office.' He brought her to the office, and of course, we called the police. The police arrived 15-20 minutes later. The municipal police called the police. The family had applied to the municipal police. We said, 'Let them come to the fire station.' When the family came, we handed the child over to them with the police. The family is an Afghan family. We told them what they needed to do, not to let go of their child's hand. We told them what was necessary, and the police teams handed her over."