ISTANBUL // At least 20 people died and 11 were injured on Saturday when a bus carrying Turkish tourists plunged off a road near the popular southwestern sea resort of Marmaris.
"Sadly, we have had 20 fatalities and 11 other seriously injured," said Amir Cicek, the governor of Mugla province. He said the bus was carrying about 40 people, many of them women.
The accident occurred on a hilly road and the bus plunged into a precipice after smashing through the crash barrier.
Television images showed the yellow bus lying on its side and bodies wrapped up in cloth lined up next to it.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, currently on a visit to China, said he was "extremely pained" by the tragedy and asked local authorities to take measures to ensure that "such tragedies" do not recur.
Mr Cicek said it was possible the brakes of the bus had malfunctioned and an investigation was underway.
However, the mayor of Marmaris, Ali Acar, hinted at driver error, but did not elaborate.
Other media outlets reported that the bus left from the western city of Izmir carrying only women and children who were on a trip for Mothers' Day, which is celebrated in Turkey on Sunday.
* Agence France Presse
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