Ankara explosion: At least 34 feared dead after blast near bus station in Turkish capital

Jamie Bullen14 March 2016

At least 34 people are believed to have been killed after an explosion in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Turkey's health minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu confirmed the death toll had risen to 34 and added 125 people were wounded, 19 of them in serious condition.

The blast was also confimed by the country's interior minister Efkan Ala as a car bomb targeted at civilians waiting at a bus stop.

A destroyed bus is seen in the street after an explosion
Reuters

The explosion took place close to Government buildings and left some vehicles reportedly on fire.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu convened an emergency security meeting after the explosion.

Dogan Asik, 28, said he was on a packed bus when the blast occurred.

He said: "There were about 40 people. It (the bus) slowed down. A car went by us, and `boom' it exploded."

An area around the Guvenpark in the Kizilay neighbourhood was cordoned off

Police cars and ambulances were sent to the scene.

It is the third explosion in the Turkish capital since October.

Last month, 28 people died in Ankara after a bomb attack on a military convoy.

A Turkey-based Kurdish militant group claimed responsibility on that occasion.

In October, more than 100 people were killed in a double-suicide bombing at a peace rally in Ankara.

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