- An explosion occurred shortly after 2:00 p.m. on the popular Istiklal shopping street in the Taksim district.
- According to the Istanbul governor, there are 38 injured and 4 dead.
- The cause of the explosion is still unclear.
State broadcaster TRT and other media outlets showed videos of ambulances driving to the crime scene on Istanbul’s Istiklal Street. The police evacuated and cordoned off the zone.
Legend:
Numerous rescue workers are on duty after an explosion in the center of Istanbul.
Reuters/KEMAL ASLAN
Images circulating on social media show people lying on the ground. Istanbul’s governor Ali Yerlikaya tweeted that 38 people were injured and 4 dead.
According to CNN Turkey, there are said to be at least 4 dead and 11 injured. In the shared video, flames erupt and a loud bang is heard as pedestrians turn and run away.
The blast happened at 4:20 p.m. local time (2:20 p.m. in Switzerland) when the crowd on Istiklal Street was particularly dense, NTV reported. The street is a tourist hotspot in the European part of the Turkish metropolis.
Turkey has previously been hit by a campaign of attacks in 2015 and 2017. The Islamic State (IS) and splinter groups of the PKK, such as the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), claimed responsibility for the attacks, which killed almost 500 people and injured more than 2,000.
More information will follow.