The man has died after being hit by a water cannon vehicle as he tried to reach the square. A 57-year-old Nail Mavus was run over as he was trying to reach the square, according to Haberturk.
Divan kavşağından Taksim'e yürümek isteyen 40 kişilik bir gruba polis müdahale ettihttps://t.co/4UWMNMzyhl
— Habertürk TV (@HaberturkTV) 1 May 2016
Massive police presence was out in force in Istanbul to prevent protesters from reaching Taksim Square, which was off limits to members of the public.
#1M16#Taksim'e doğru yürüyüşe geçen Halkın Kurtuluşu Partisi (HKP) üyelerine polis müdahale etti. pic.twitter.com/s5ynpjKU5Z
— dokuz8 (@dokuz8haber) 1 May 2016
The people wanted to celebrate International Workers Day at Taksim Square as it has been a symbolic venue for protests recently. The Turkish security forces had almost 25,000 police on duty Sunday. Numerous roads were also closed to prevent clashes between law enforcement officers and demonstrators.
İcazetli Bakırköy Pazar Yeri 1 Mayıs alanı değil Mücadele ile kazandığımız Taksim 1 Mayıs alanıdır pic.twitter.com/aIdfIfnRmw
— Nakliyat-İş (@Nakliyatsendika) 1 May 2016
Meanwhile, International Workers' Day celebrations were cancelled in the southern province of Adana due to intel regarding a possible suicide attack.