Bus crashes carrying illegal migrants kills 17 in Turkey

Ankara, March 30: A minibus packed with migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran crashed and burst into flames in eastern Turkey, killing 17 people and 36 wounded.

Images in Turkish media showed smoke rising from the charred bus with its front smashed and migrants lying on the road with bloodied faces.

"When we arrived at the scene we found a... migrant tragedy," Igdir province governor Enver Unlu told. "We are deeply saddened that the frequent smuggling of migrants, which goes on in our province, has ended in a traffic accident." Health officials said some of the injured were in a serious condition.

The bus had the capacity for 14 people but over 50 people including women were on board, according to Anadolu.

The Igdir public prosecutor has opened an investigation into the incident while officials sought to identify the driver. Thirteen illegal migrants were detained by security forces inside another bus, which Anadolu said had been on the same journey as the one involved in the crash.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria and other countries have crossed to Greece and further into Europe via Turkey in recent years. Hundreds have died in the attempt.