Turkey explosion: Visuals show panic, chaos as blast resonated in Istanbul's Taksim Square

As a powerful blast rocked the bustling Taksim Square area of central Istanbul, videos now emerging on social media depict the moment of panic, chaos, and fear ensuing among the tourists, shoppers, and shop owners as they run to find a safe spot. Sunday's explosion claimed at least six lives and wounded 53 others. The blast occurred at around 16:20 local time (13:20 GMT) on a shopping street, and visuals now circulating show harrowing experiences as people flee to save their lives on the street of Istiklal Avenue amid the resonating explosion noise. In footage that captured the exact moment when the blast occurred, the public was seen running in all directions and some shopkeepers froze or ran inside for cover. 

"When I heard the explosion, I was petrified, people froze, looking at each other. Then people started running away. What else can you do," one eyewitness Mehmet Akus, aged 45, was reported relaying his harrowing experience. He is employed in a restaurant at Istiklal street and panicked from the loud blast noise. Moments before the explosion, the videos show the crowd of tourists walking casually on the busy street, some shopping, others surrounding the cafes and eateries. As the blast occurred, many people reported freezing in their position while others ran furiously to avoid being injured.

Some others, meanwhile, had no clue how to react and frantically looked for their company as panic engulfed the bustling area. Tourists described the sound of the explosion as deafening, many described the scenes of the aftermath as a plume of thick black smoke emanating and a huge fire on the scene. Turkish helicopters after a while were also seen flying above the street and sounds of sirens were activated across the city. Turkish police established a large security cordon in the area of the impact and looked for survivors. In the visuals, one can spot a black crater and several bodies strewn across the ground. 

'We wish God’s mercy..'

Istanbul's governor Ali Yerlikaya, in a tweet, said: “We wish God’s mercy on those who lost their lives and a speedy recovery to the injured." It is, although, unclear at this time what caused the explosion. Meanwhile, ahead of his departure to the G20 summit in Bali, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labelled the attack as “treacherous" and added that the perpetrators would be punished.

Panic and Chaos ensued on the bustling and crowded street as shopkeepers stood at their doorways at the time of the explosion. The city was previously targeted by a suicide bomber in 2016. Erdogan stated that an investigation was ordered but initial reports suggested an "act of terrorism." “The first information provided to us by the [Istanbul] governor suggests this was an act of terrorism. We detected that a woman played a role. The work continues,” he said.

“Our people can rest assured that the culprits behind the attack will be punished as they deserve,” the Turkish leader said at a press conference. He added that the information suggested “a woman played a part” in it. “It would be wrong to say this is undoubtedly a terrorist attack but the initial developments and initial intelligence from my governor is that it smells like terrorism,” Erdogan said.

Istanbul target of Kurdish separatists and militant Islamist attacks

Istanbul has been the target of Kurdish separatists and militant Islamist attacks in the past and many blasts have occurred between 2015 and 2017 carried out mainly by the ISIL. Istanbul's governor Yerlikaya said earlier that the explosion had occurred at Beyoglu Square and that emergency services responded to the scene. “Developments will be shared with the public,” he said. The Beyoglu district where the blast occurred is Turkey’s largest city which shoppers, tourists, and explorers visit majorly. Erdogan at a conference said, “It may be wrong if we say this is definitely terror but according to preliminary findings, what my governors told us, there is a smell of terror here.”

The police and the security forces have been put on highest level in this area.