Tourist hurt in Turkish blast dies

A BRITISH holidaymaker injured in a terrorist bomb blast in Turkey died in hospital yesterday.

Joanna Griffiths, 23, from Chester, died in Manchester Royal Infirmary after suffering serious head injuries in the attack in Marmaris last week. A spokeswoman for the hospital said she never regained consciousness.

Miss Griffiths was hit by shrapnel when the bomb exploded in a rubbish bin on Tuesday. She was flown to Britain by air ambulance on Thursday after undergoing brain surgery in Turkey. Her mother Trene, 41, suffered leg injuries in the blast and was flown back to Britain a day later.

The spokeswoman said: 'Mrs Griffiths had an operation on Friday and her condition is comfortable.'

The women were among 21 people injured, eight of them Britons, in four blasts at two Turkish resorts. Two bombs exploded in Marmaris and injured three other Britons, Sylvia Metz, 59, her husband Jimmy and daughter Anthea. They continued their holiday after being released from hospital.

Hours earlier, bombs exploded at a teahouse in Fethiye, about 85 miles along the coast of southern Turkey. Three Britons, Richard Broom, 54, his wife Estelle, 51, and Derek Bartell were treated in Turkey.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombing campaign but the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been blamed. The tourism industry has been targeted by the group in its fight for self-rule because of the government's reliance on foreign currency income.

Tour operators offered holidaymakers bound for Turkey the chance to cancel or transfer to another destination. But Keith Betton, of the Association of British Travel Agents, said that of about 800 people due to fly with the major operators the day after the bombings, only about a dozen had cancelled.