London teenage boy survives a horrific crash in Turkey

Hassan Mahmood, 13, from Wembley

Hassan Mahmood, a 13-year-old boy who was on a 10-day long vacation in Antalya, Turkey with his mother and sister, miraculously survived a vehicle crash on 14 June.

The three family members from North West London were on a day-long excursion trip and on their way back to the hotel when the tourist bus they had hired along with 22 other people, crashed. Hassan’s mother Samina, 47, and elder sister Hafza, 21, both perished due to their injuries, but he managed to narrowly survive the horrific accident.

Hassan has had several operations to treat his injuries at a hospital in Turkey, where doctors said that he will most likely have to stay for another six months to get the proper treatment and care he needs.

Sofie Akbar, 30, who is Hassan’s cousin informed that a total of five people had died in the crash, which included the bus driver who likely fell asleep while driving. One woman is in a critical condition at the hospital, while two close female friends of the Mahmood family also managed to survive the crash. However, one of them had to get her arm amputated.

Tariq, who is Hassan and Hafza’s father, did not join the family on the vacation as he did not enjoy travelling and stayed back at their home opposite Wembley Stadium. Their brother, 25-year-old Hamza also did not go with them.

Sophie said that Tariq was devastated at the news of the tragedy and added, “It’s like his life has just absolutely evaporated in a second. He is an absolutely broken man.”

On Wednesday, 22 June, Sophie along with her cousins visited Hassan at the hospital in Turkey. She said, “He was asleep at first and then sort of woke up and doesn’t really remember the accident itself. He remembers what happened on the holiday but nothing of the accident.”

The doctors recently told Sophie that Hassan was fit to fly back to the UK, but since they did not opt for a travel insurance, the family are trying to get money through crowdfunding. Sophie also stated that the family has had to spend ‘thousands of pounds’ for Hassan’s treatment and must pay additional bills for the rest of the days he spends at the hospital.

Speaking about the tragedy that took some of her closest loved ones’ lives, Sophie remarked, “We’re aware of the conditions of the drivers, they’re overworked and it is tourist season. If this can help anyone or prevent another accident, that would be incredible. It could save a family.”