14 killed as Turkish schoolbus plunges into canal

At least 14 people including six children were killed on Sunday when a schoolbus plunged off the road and into a canal in southern Turkey, local governor Kerem Al said.

The bus had been bringing pupils and their parents back from an excursion to the well-known archaeological site of Karatepe outside the city of Osmaniye when it flipped over into the canal, the governor said.

The driver had lost control of the vehicle and an investigation was underway, he added.

Twenty-six people were being treated for injuries in hospital. Of those killed, three were female pupils, three were boys and eight were adults, Al said.

Pictures published by Turkish media showed horrified onlookers watching a crane hoisting the bus out of the water.

Grieving parents of the child victims gathered at the city morgue to identify the dead, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.