The vehicle overturned near the village of Bostanlı. Most of the injured were immediately rushed to Dargeçit State Hospital, while soldiers Murat Çil, Zeyni Yılmaz and Abdullah Algın and village guard Hüseyin Demir, whose injuries were severe, were taken by military helicopter to Diyarbakır Military Hospital, where doctors say they remain in critical condition.
An investigation has been launched into the cause of the accident, which initial reports indicated occurred when the civilian vehicle full of soldiers experienced a malfunction, causing it to lurch backward and eventually overturn off the side of the road.
The deceased was identified as Emrah Karama, a gendarmerie commando who had begun serving in the military only five months ago. At the 20-year-old’s family home in Çorum’s Sungurlu district, friends, relatives and sympathetic district residents had begun to make condolence visits. His parents, Murat and Dursuniye Karama, were visibly distraught at the news of the death of their son, one of five children. Seeing that someone had hung a Turkish flag outside the home, Dursuniye Karama said amidst tears: “Why has this happened, is my son getting married? Why are you hanging up a flag? There should be no more fallen soldiers, such events must be stopped.” When her condition worsened, she had to be taken to Sungurlu State Hospital for treatment. Authorities say Karama’s body will be flown to Ankara and then transported by land to Çorum, where a funeral is planned for today.
Meanwhile, Turkish media reported yesterday afternoon that a military helicopter had crashed in the Tokat province, killing all three soldiers on board. The condition of the soldiers in the crash, which the military had yet to issue a statement on, was unknown at the time Today’s Zaman went to print. A statement from the Tokat governor’s office said the Sikorsky helicopter was on its way from the Black Sea coastal city of Giresun to capital Ankara when it went down in the region. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
