At least 12 people were killed when a bus carrying refugees crashed in Turkey | Migration Issues

A passenger vehicle in the Van region catches fire after falling into a ditch.

A minibus carrying migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh has crashed in eastern Turkey, killing at least 12 people and injuring 26 others, according to government officials.

The accident happened Sunday morning in Van district in Muradiye province near the Turkish-Iranian border, when the car caught fire when it fell into a ditch, two local journalists told Reuters news agency.

The names of those killed in the crash are not immediately clear, all sources say, adding that the owner of the bus has been arrested.

A television video shows survivors being held on the side of the road while paramedics investigate the incident.

The bags of the body could be seen by the lava, and their belongings were spread out nearby.

District Governor and Deputy Mayor Erkan Savar, Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Brigadier General Yuksel Yigit and District Gendarmerie Commander Lieutenant Colonel Evren Kaptan were on hand receiving more information from officials.

Immigrants, mainly from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, simply cross the Iranian border into Turkey on foot before being taken westward to cities such as Istanbul and Ankara.

According to the Center for Asylum and Migration Study based in Ankara, encouragement from Afghanistan to Afghanistan has also encouraged young men who are experimenting with mountain climbing.

In June 2020, more than 60 migrants drowned in Lake Van as their boat sank.