Istanbul attack: Bus driver rams vehicle into crowd and stabs people, leaving 13 injured

Two children wounded as fleeing man jumps into sea

A bus driver in Istanbul rammed his vehicle into a crowd waiting by a stop, stabbed several people and jumped into the sea.

It is unclear whether the 33-year-old crashed his bus deliberately during the incident on Sunday afternoon.

He tried to escape the scene and was stopped by a man near the stop. The driver stabbed the man with a knife and then attacked others who tried to stop him with the blade.

At least 13 people were injured in the incident, including two children. Around five of the victims are thought to have been critically wounded.

Three Iranian citizens are also among the injured. Detectives said the bus driver leapt into the sea in an attempt to escape but was later arrested by police officers.

Videos from the scene show people running away, with injured victims lying on the ground as a panicking crowd surrounds them.

The video also shows the bus, which has a shattered windscreen.

“The wounded were taken to the surrounding hospitals by ambulances,” a spokesperson for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the local authority, said.

“We have started a comprehensive investigation about the driver, vehicle owner and Private Public Bus Company.”

The spokesperson added that the company was closely monitoring the status of the injured, according to Turkish news website T24.

Istanbul police have opened an investigation into the crash, the spokesperson said.