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Brits urged to not to desert Turkey
British holidaymakers have been urged to keep visiting Turkey despite a bus bomb which killed five people in the resort of Kusadasi.
The call came from the British ambassador to Turkey Sir Peter Westmacott in the wake of the terror attack which claimed the life of 21 year old British holidaymaker Helen Bennett and left four of her family injured. Seventeen year old Irish tourist Tara Whelan and three Turkish people were also killed in the blast and 11 people were injured.
Sir Peter reportedly branded whoever was responsible for the outrage on the bus as “barbarians”.
Sir Peter said: “We must not give in to terrorism. Our reaction to this should be one of defiance.”
Two of the the dead and five injured Britons were on Thomas Cook holidays. A spokeswoman was quoted as saying: “Thomas Cook’s first priority is the welfare of its customers and the company’s overseas team is on hand to support injured guests and their families.”
The operator said only six of its 1,000 holidaymakers in Kusadasi wanted to leave, according to the Daily Telegraph.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast on Saturday morning as the bus shuttled between the resort’s beaches.
Turkey attracts more than 1.2 million British tourists a year and bookings are up by 40% this year.
Report by Phil Davies
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