Explosion on Busy Istanbul Street Kills 6, Wounds Dozens

UPDATE, 3:34 p.m.: PBS is reporting a higher injury number of 81, with Turkey’s vice president claiming that the explosion was a terrorist attack.

On Sunday afternoon, a popular street in Istanbul erupted into chaos as an explosion ripped through the area, killing at least six and wounding dozens more.

Both President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that 53 people were wounded in the blast.

“Footage posted online showed ambulances, fire trucks and police at the scene on Istiklal Avenue, a popular thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants that leads to the iconic Taksim Square,” reports the Associated Press. “In one video, a loud bang could be heard and flames seen as pedestrians turned and ran away.”

Security camera footage showed the explosion, which appears to have come from a bag that someone left on the bench.

🇹🇷 — NEW FOOTAGE: CCTV video shows the moment of the explosion at Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey. It seems the explosion was caused by a bag left on a bench. pic.twitter.com/EIW4oeNuhw

— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) November 13, 2022

Erdogan said that the blast was a “treacherous attack” that had the “smell of terror” attached to it, although he didn’t offer any details and expressed his uncertainty about the explosion.

Police and other local authorities are investigating the incident. The AP mentioned a series of explosions at the hands of ISIS that rocked Turkey between 2015 and 2017, but there’s nothing at this time to connect the group to Sunday’s blast.