Prema medijskim izvještajima, do eksplozije je došlo nekoliko sati nakon otvaranja trodnevnog međunarodnog sajma o odbrani, a nekoliko minuta prije početka službenog prijema u Muzeju anadolskih civilizacija, nekoliko stotina metara od mjesta eksplozije.
According to Turkish media reports, the blast took place hours after the opening of a three-day international defence industry fair and minutes before the start of an official reception at the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, several hundred metres away from the site of the explosion.