5 killed as bus hits bridge in Turkey

At least five people were killed and many others injured early Thursday, when a long-distance bus crashed into a bridge near Turkey's capital Ankara.

The bus, which departed from Turkey's Aegean city of Izmir, lost control and hit a bridge pier on the Eskisehir-Ankara highway, some 35 km away from the city center.

Ambulances and fire brigades have rushed to the scene to rescue the passengers still stuck on the bus.

Part of the highway traffic has been closed since the accident.

The authorities are investigating the cause of the crash which remains unclear.

In Turkey, coach bus is a popular method of long-distance transportation, however, dozens of passengers have lost their lives in several deadly bus accidents since this month.

On Aug. 14, 11 people were killed in two separate bus accidents, one in Ankara and one in Agri. Earlier on Aug. 5, six died when a bus toppled outside a highway in Amasya.

Fatigue driving is the main cause of accidents, experts said, illustrating most of the bus accidents happened in the early morning after overnight driving.