At least six people have been killed and 81 wounded in an explosion on Istanbul’s historic Istiklal Street, according to the Vice President of Türkiye Fuat Oktay.
The blast occurred around 4:20 pm local time (1320 GMT) in Istanbul’s Beyoglu district on Sunday.
Based on initial information from Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the explosion could be an act of terrorism.
“Türkiye will not bow down to terrorism. We will identify all those responsible for the attack,” Erdogan said.
“Our nation should be sure that the perpetrators of the incident on Istiklal Street will be punished as they deserve,” he added.
Earlier, Yerlikaya said on Twitter that the wounded are currently being treated.
“We wish God’s mercy on those who lost their lives and a speedy recovery to the injured. The developments will be shared with the public,” Yerlikaya said.
Footage showed ambulances, fire trucks and police at the scene. Police teams took security measures in the area where the explosion happened.
Social media users said shops were shuttered and the avenue closed down.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca later said 39 out of 81 people who were wounded during the suspected terror attack were discharged from the hospital.
“Five of the 42 wounded are in the intensive care unit, two of them in critical condition,” Koca said.
Family and Social Services Minister Derya Yanik said her personnel, Yusuf Meydan, and his daughter, Ecrin, were killed during the explosion.
Investigation launched
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the explosion. Five public prosecutors were appointed.
“All institutions and organisations of our state are conducting a fast, meticulous and effective investigation regarding the incident,” Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said.
In addition, a broadcast ban was issued by the Istanbul Criminal Court of Peace for all visual and audio news and social networking sites related to the explosion.
“We invite media organisations to be responsible, not to rely on misleading content sourced from social media, and to take the statements of relevant public authorities as a basis,” Altun added.
