25 August 2009 / TODAY'S ZAMAN WITH WIRES , İSTANBUL
Thirteen people, including several children, were injured in three villages of eastern Erzincan province when they were attacked by wolves on Sunday.
Villagers were attacked by wolves in the villages of Bahçeyazı, Çatalarmut and Heybeliköy on Sunday. According to the Anatolia news agency, the first wolf attack was early on Sunday in Heybeliköy. A wolf attacked and injured Şükrü Uludağ (63), Melek Uludağ (62) and Kibar Bayrak (60). The victims were taken to Erzincan State Hospital. On Sunday afternoon, wolves injured Ali Yalçın (57), Vesile Bayrak (33), Emre Bayrak (9), Samime Dülger (44), Erol Polat (44) and Sinem Polat (6) in Bahçeyazı. The six villagers were also taken to Erzincan State Hospital.Four people in Çatalarmut -- Ekrem Köksal (35), Sündüz Köksal (31), Mahmure Süslü and Salih Polat (7) -- were also attacked by wolves and hospitalized. The Erzurum provincial health director, who visited the victims in the hospital, said nine of the victims are being treated at Erzincan State Hospital while four were transferred to Erzurum Research and Teaching Hospital. Noting that the victims will all be given rabies vaccinations, he said samples taken from one of the wolves will be examined, and if rabies is found, the villages in question will also be examined for traces of the disease. Ekrem Köksal said a wolf suddenly attacked his family while they were returning home. He said they tried to escape the wolf by running into their house.
