[Photo: Syrian refugees in Sarayici, Turkey. 20 September 2015. Photographer: Berk Ozkan/AA]

Handan Kazancı

BALIKESIR, (AA): At least eight people died and 48 others were injured when a passenger bus carrying mostly Syrian refugees overturned in Turkey’s western province of Balikesir on early Saturday, officials said.

According to initial reports, the bus driver – Turkish citizen Yasar Ozkan, 63 – and seven Syrian refugees died at the scene near the Balikesir-Canakkale E-87 highway.

The injured were taken to nearby hospitals.

According to the police, seven of the injured are in a critical condition.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Havran district governor in Balikesir, Yasin Ozturk said: “Four female and three male refugees as well as the driver lost their lives [in the accident].”

One of the 48 injured was from Algeria, Ozturk added.

Seventeen children and one pregnant woman were among those hurt, the governor added.

Turkey is a key route for Syrian refugees fleeing civil war en route to Europe; the country currently hosts 2.4 million such refugees.