At least 15 people, including a number of children, have been killed in Turkey after a lorry carrying migrants plunged off a road, state media say.

The lorry crashed through a barrier and landed in an irrigation canal 20m (65ft) below, in the western province of Izmir.

The nationality of the victims was not immediately known.

A day earlier, 11 people thought to be migrants died when their car burst into flames after a crash in Greece.

The lorry was travelling from Aydin to Izmir when Sunday's accident happened, the Anadolu agency said.

It said many other people were injured but did not give figures.

Turkey is a major transit point for migrants travelling from Syria and other Middle Eastern nations, as well as from countries further east and in Africa.

More than a million migrants crossed into Greece during the peak year of 2015.

But the flow fell dramatically after the EU and Turkey signed an agreement to send back to Turkey migrants who did not apply for asylum or whose claim was rejected.

Saturday's crash in Greece involved a car and a lorry, both of which burst into flames after a head-on collision near Kavala in the north of the country.

The lorry driver managed to escape without serious injuries. </s> ANKARA, Turkey — A senior official says 17 people, mostly migrants, were killed in a road accident in the eastern Turkish province of Igdir.

Another 36 were injured in the accident late Thursday.

Igdir Governor Enver Unlu said Friday that a minivan packed with migrants hit a light pole and caught fire. Some of the victims died in the crash while others were killed when they were hurled into oncoming traffic and hit by another minivan that was also carrying migrants.

The state-run Anadolu agency said the migrants were from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran and that their vehicles had crossed into Turkey illegally from Iran.

Unlu said on arrival at the scene “we were faced with a painful migrant tragedy.” </s> At least 22 people, including a number of children, were killed in Izmir, Turkey when a lorry carrying migrants plunged off a road, state media say.

The lorry crashed through a barrier and landed in an irrigation canal 20 metres (65 feet) below, in the western province of the country.

A further 11 people were injured in the crash and are being treated in nearby hospitals but their nationalities are unknown.

Video footage showed the mangled wreckage of the open-top truck toppled over in the canal.

The truck, which had been travelling from Aydin to Izmir, veered off the road about 8am local time in the Gaziemir district.

The destroyed truck can be seen upside down in a waterway with personal items scattered all around.

A state prosecutor has begun an investigation into the crash, and the truck driver could face arrest after hospital treatment, Anadolu said.

Turkey is a major transit point for migrants travelling from Syria and other Middle Eastern nations, as well as from countries further east and in Africa.

More than a million migrants crossed into Greece during the peak year of 2015.

But the flow fell dramatically after the EU and Turkey signed an agreement to send back to Turkey migrants who did not apply for asylum or whose claim was rejected.

Nevertheless, the UN says more than 24,500 migrants have made the sea journey from Turkey to Greece this year, with 118 losing their lives. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption The lorry crashed through a barrier and plunged 20m

At least 22 people, including a number of children, were killed in Turkey when a lorry carrying migrants plunged off a road, state media say.

The lorry crashed through a barrier and landed in an irrigation canal 20m (65ft) below, in the western province of Izmir.

The nationality of the victims was not immediately known.

A day earlier, 11 people thought to be migrants died when their car burst into flames after a crash in Greece.

The lorry was travelling from Aydin to Izmir when Sunday's accident happened, the Anadolu agency said.

It was reportedly taking the migrants to the coast, where they would have boarded inflatable dinghies heading to Greece's Samos island.

In addition to the dead, 13 people were taken to hospital with injuries.

The DHA agency said the 35-year-old Turkish driver had survived the crash and told police he had swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle.

The agency said that two children and two babies were killed, along with a pregnant woman.

Prosecutors have opened an investigation and said the driver could face arrest after receiving medical treatment.

Turkey is a major transit point for migrants travelling from Syria and other Middle Eastern nations, as well as from countries further east and in Africa.

More than a million migrants crossed into Greece during the peak year of 2015.

But the flow fell dramatically after the EU and Turkey signed an agreement to send back to Turkey migrants who did not apply for asylum or whose claim was rejected.

Nevertheless, the UN says more than 24,500 migrants have made the sea journey from Turkey to Greece this year, with 118 losing their lives.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Saturday's crash in northern Greece left 11 people dead

Saturday's crash in Greece involved a car and a lorry, both of which burst into flames after a head-on collision near Kavala in the north of the country.

The lorry driver managed to escape without serious injuries. </s> ANKARA, Turkey—A road accident in eastern Turkey has killed 17 people, mostly migrants, who had crossed into the country illegally, a senior official said.

The Governor of Igdir province, Enver Unlu, said 36 people were also injured in the accident late on Thursday on a highway linking his province with neighbouring Kars province.

Unlu said a minivan packed with migrants hit a light pole and caught fire. Some of the victims died in the crash while others were killed when they were hurled into oncoming traffic and hit by another minivan that was also carrying migrants.

The state-run Anadolu agency said the migrants were from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran and that their vehicles had crossed into Turkey illegally from Iran.

The cause of the accident was under investigation. </s> At least 17 people have been killed and another 36 wounded after a bus carrying illegal immigrants hit a lighting pole in eastern Turkey and burst into flames, local media reported on Friday.

 The bus, which crashed late Thursday on the Igdir-Kars highway, was carrying nationals from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Images in Turkish media showed smoke rising from the charred bus with its front smashed and migrants lying on the road with bloodied faces. “When we arrived at the scene we found a… migrant tragedy,” Igdir province governor Enver Unlu told reporters at the scene. “We are deeply saddened that the frequent smuggling of migrants, which goes on in our province, has ended in a traffic accident.”—Agencies </s> ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A road accident in eastern Turkey has killed 17 people, mostly migrants, who had crossed into the country illegally, a senior official said.

Governor of Igdir province, Enver Unlu, said 36 people were also injured in the accident late on Thursday on a highway linking his province with neighboring Kars province.

Unlu said a minivan packed with migrants hit a light pole and caught fire. Some of the victims died in the crash while others were killed when they were hurled onto oncoming traffic and hit by another minivan that was also carrying migrants.

The state-run Anadolu agency said the migrants were from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran and that their vehicles had crossed into Turkey illegally from Iran.

The cause of the accident was under investigation.

At least seven of the injured passengers were undergoing surgery at a hospital in Igdir, Anadolu reported. Some other passengers who were in serious condition were transferred to hospitals in the cities of Erzurum, Kars and Van.

Anadolu quoted Igdir's deputy chief health official, Taner Basaran, as saying as many as 50 migrants were "packed like sardines" into the minivans.

Unlu, the governor, said on arrival at the scene "we were faced with a painful migrant tragedy." </s> At least 17 people died and 36 others were wounded when a minibus hit a light pole in eastern Turkey and caught fire, local media reported Friday.

The driver was among those killed, Turkish authorities said, and the injured, some in serious condition, were taken to Igdir State Hospital.

Igdir Governor Enver Unlu said that some of the victims died in the crash while others were killed when they were hit by another minivan that was also carrying migrants.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said the vehicle that crashed late Thursday on the Igdir-Kars highway, was carrying nationals from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, who entered Turkey illegally from the Iranian border.

The minibus with a capacity for 14 people, was carrying more than 50, including women, according to the agency.

The Igdir public prosecutor has opened an investigation into the incident while officials sought to identify the driver.

Thirteen illegal migrants inside the other minibus were detained by security forces.

Road accidents are common in Turkey. A Turkish state broadcaster reported last month that 3,530 people were killed on the roads in 2017. </s> At least 22 migrants, including children, were killed on Sunday when a truck carrying them overturned in Turkey’s Izmir province, state-media Anadolu agency reported.

The truck was en route Izmir from Aydin province. It overturned in Menderes district before falling into a canal around 20 metres below the highway. The passengers were foreign migrants who had reached a deal to be transported to the Samos island in Greece, off the coast of Izmir, Demiroren news agency reported.

Turkey is a key transit point for migrants from Middle East, Africa, Asia who seek a new life in Europe. In 2015, a million migrants crossed from Turkey into Greece, AFP reported.
At least 22 people are killed in Turkey after a lorry carrying migrants plunges off a road.