Members of the Turkish top flight Samsunspor narrowly, and thankfully, averted tragedy after a train collided with their team bus early on Tuesday.
The team was apparently on their way home from an away match against Kardemir Karabükspor when the bus was side-swiped by a slow-moving train.
Miraculously, not only were no players killed in the shocking crash, but only defender Hakan Arslan and midfielder Serdar Özkan suffered significant but not life-threatening injuries.
Speaking to the press, bus driver Recep Terzi explained: "It was midnight. The ramps were up when I was about to cross.
"While slowly crossing, I realized a train was approaching and had its lights off. I immediately accelerated.
"After I stepped on the gas, the train hit the left back wheel of the bus and pushed us aside.
"If I had not seen the train at the last second, it would have hit the middle of the bus and that would have led to great damage and could have even cost many lives.
"The players awoke in panic; many later said they were lucky to have survived."
The same club experienced a similar train-crash accident 23 years ago in which the technical director, the coach driver and three players died.
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| The Samsunspor club bus is seen after colliding with a train Photo: Today's Zaman |
The team was apparently on their way home from an away match against Kardemir Karabükspor when the bus was side-swiped by a slow-moving train.
Miraculously, not only were no players killed in the shocking crash, but only defender Hakan Arslan and midfielder Serdar Özkan suffered significant but not life-threatening injuries.
Speaking to the press, bus driver Recep Terzi explained: "It was midnight. The ramps were up when I was about to cross.
"While slowly crossing, I realized a train was approaching and had its lights off. I immediately accelerated.
"After I stepped on the gas, the train hit the left back wheel of the bus and pushed us aside.
"If I had not seen the train at the last second, it would have hit the middle of the bus and that would have led to great damage and could have even cost many lives.
"The players awoke in panic; many later said they were lucky to have survived."
The same club experienced a similar train-crash accident 23 years ago in which the technical director, the coach driver and three players died.
Also see:
