Eleven killed, dozens injured in Turkey bus crash

A bus crash in central Turkey has left 11 people dead and at least 44 others injured, according to authorities.

The accident on Saturday happened when the vehicle hit several trees on the side of the road in the province of Eskisehir.

The bus mainly carried families on their way to the northwest city of Bursa, where they planned to spend a holiday at the Uludag ski resort.

Ozdemir Cakacak, provincial governor, said the final death toll was 11, despite earlier reports suggesting that at least 13 people had died.

The injured were being treated in three hospitals in the area, Cakacak was quoted as saying by Anadolu state-run news agency.

Road and weather conditions were good, authorities said, as they announced the launch of an investigation into the cause of the accident.

The driver and his assistant, who both sustained minor injuries, were taken into custody as part of the probe.

Traffic accidents are common in Turkey, with over a million reported incidents in 2016. About 7,300 people lost their lives in that year and more than 300,000 were injured.

Both numbers of those killed and those injured have been rising over the past decade, according to the Turkish statistics bureau.