Several dead in explosion in Istanbul

Explosion in Istanbul

Rescuers near the blast.

(Photo: RUETERS)

Istanbul According to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, six people were killed and 53 injured in an explosion in a popular Istanbul pedestrian zone on Sunday. The incident happened around 4:20 p.m. (local time), Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said on Twitter. Erdogan described the explosion as a “sneaky attack”.

The mayor of the city, Ekrem Imamoglu, canceled his participation in an event on Sunday evening, and according to the state broadcaster TRT, the ministers of interior and justice immediately made their way from the capital Ankara to Istanbul. The announcement of the current number of victims came from the president himself. Five public prosecutors were commissioned to investigate the events.

The Turkish government is so alarmed that it could be a terrorist attack. Initial reports of a possible attack or an explosion caused by a leak in a gas line have not yet been confirmed.

Footage showed ambulances, fire engines and police at the scene of the explosion on Istiklal Street. The cause of the explosion was initially unknown. Social media said shops were closed and the road blocked. Flames could be seen on a video published on the Internet, and a loud bang was heard. Pedestrians ran away.

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News blackout in Turkish media

Shortly after the accident, the Turkish media initially did not report on the explosion. The Turkish broadcasting authority Rtük imposed a temporary news ban on the media. Reports of the explosion should be avoided so as not to cause fear and panic among the population, the letter said in the afternoon. The broadcasters CNN Türk and TRT, for example, then interrupted their reports on the explosion on the popular shopping street.

The communications director of the Turkish presidential office, Fahrettin Altun, warns against further reports from the Turkish media. All institutions and organizations of our country conducted a quick, careful and effective investigation into the incident. “In this process, we call on media organizations to take responsibility, not to rely on disinformation social media content and to take the statements of competent authorities as a basis.”

The street is a tourist hotspot in the center of the European part of the Turkish metropolis, which is often crowded even on Sundays. In 2016, a suicide bomber blew himself up on Istiklal, killing four people and injuring 39 others.

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