At least 28 people were killed in two separate explosions at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport late on June 28, Istanbul Gov. Vasip Şahin has stated.The governor said three suicide bombers carried out the attack.
At least 60 people, of whom six were heavily wounded, were injured in the explosions, Anadolu Agency reported.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said at least one attacker first opened fire with a Kalashnikov rifle before detonating himself.
The explosions occurred at the airport’s international terminal, according to initial reports.
A witness told CNN Türk that gunfire was heard from the car park at the airport.
A
number of ambulances were also deployed to the scene, while taxis also
transported wounded people to hospitals, according to an eyewitness
speaking to CNN Türk.
Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım ordered the formation of a crisis desk into the incident.
Entries
and exits to the airport have been blocked, while authorities appealed
to motorists to vacate roads on the approach to the site to facilitate
the arrival of emergency services.
Red Crescent Chair Kerem
Kınık said there was no need for citizens to descend upon hospitals to
donate blood at the moment, asking motorists to avoid creating traffic
in front of medical centers. Kınık, however, asked citizens to donate
blood at a variety of mobile blood centers established around the city.
Some flights to Ataturk Airport have been diverted after attack on the airport, agencies reported.
Flights from the airport were also canceled.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, several ministers and Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar in Ankara before the prime minister move to Istanbul for further inspections.
Meanwhile,
an NBC News reporter, who witnessed the explosions, wrote on Twitter
that he saw a police officer wrestle a suicide bomber to the ground and
that the attacker then detonated his bomb, Reuters reported. However,
the information was not confirmed.