Twelve people died when a tour bus and a truck collided near the Akhisar toll gates in western Turkey on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026.
The crash on the Gebze-Orhangazi-Izmir Highway also injured 27 people and left both vehicles overturned on the median. Authorities received the report at 11:11 a.m. local time, near the highway entrance in the Akhisar district of Manisa province. Two drivers have been arrested since.
The bus was carrying 34 passengers and three crew members from Bursa toward Izmir. It was headed for Pamukkale in Denizli and the thermal springs there. The bus carried the license plate 16 AED 124. One driver was aboard the truck.
Bus Backed Up at Toll Gates
Initial findings show the bus missed the Akhisar toll gates and was reversing when the truck hit it. The truck was loaded with lumber and came up from behind.
Highway camera footage shows the bus backing up after overshooting the junction, the truck closing in, and both vehicles tipping over onto the median strip. Photographs from the scene show the bus slumped across the safety barriers, its rear end crushed.
Ambulances, fire crews, police and other emergency units reached the site in large numbers, and crews ferried the injured to hospitals across the area. “Health and rescue teams were directed to the scene, and efforts to rescue our citizens affected by the accident were quickly launched,” the Manisa Governor’s Office said in a statement.
Cranes Hauled the Wreck Away
Gendarmerie teams spent the day working the site. Highway crews cleared the roadway, and a drone filmed the area from above. Cranes hoisted the overturned bus and truck off the median and hauled them away.
Manisa Gov. Vahdettin Ozkan visited the crash site, where officials briefed him. He put the toll at 11 dead and 27 injured. The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office was coordinating the work still going on at the site, Ozkan said.
Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said later that all 27 injured people were under treatment. One was in serious condition, 18 were in moderate condition and eight were doing well.
A private hospital in Akhisar received three of the dead at its morgue. The morgue of Akhisar Mustafa Kirazoglu State Hospital took the other eight. Ages of the 11 identified victims ran from 58 to 88.
Turkish media reported Oct. 17 that the toll had risen to 12. A 71-year-old woman had died in intensive care at Manisa City Hospital.
Security Footage Shows Unhurried Start
Security camera footage captured the unhurried start of the trip. The bus left a restaurant on Ulubatli Hasan Boulevard in Bursa’s Osmangazi district about 6:30 a.m.
Cameras filmed Metin Yavuz, 62, the tour organizer, before departure. He walked into the restaurant, chatted with staff, sat down to eat and waited for the scheduled departure time. Yavuz is among the injured.
The bus pulled into a fuel station in the Mustafakemalpasa district at 8:20 a.m. for a brief stop, after picking up passengers. Seven minutes later, everyone reboarded and the bus continued.
Three Drivers Taken Into Custody
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said the Akhisar Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office opened a judicial investigation. Three public prosecutors are handling it, according to Gurlek.
Prosecutors said in a statement that officers took bus driver M.A., backup bus driver M.Y. and truck driver H.K. into custody. A court arrested M.A. and H.K. on Oct. 12 and released M.Y. under judicial control, Turkish media reported.
The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority rushed to the scene along with police, gendarmerie, fire and 112 emergency health teams, Ciftci said. Ciftci said the government was tracking the response alongside every relevant institution, prayed for God’s mercy on those killed and wished the injured a swift recovery.
Condolences also came from Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, who addressed the families and relatives of the dead. He wished the injured a speedy recovery.
