Dozens dead in Turkish bus crash

A bus carrying pilgrims returning from a religious festival crashed off a road and flipped over in Turkey late yesterday, killing 29 passengers, officials said.

At least 30 other people were injured, many of them in other collisions caused by the crash.

The accident took place near the city of Tarsus, close to the Mediterranean coast. The passengers were returning from an annual festival in the central province of Nevsehir.

The brakes on the bus failed, and it swerved off a steep slope at the edge of the road before overturning, local reports said.

At least six other vehicles, including another passenger bus and a truck, also crashed as a result, local Governor Akif Tig said.

Tarsus is 300 miles south of the capital Ankara.