Four die in Turkish building collapse
At least four people died and dozens more were trapped when an 11-storey apartment building in central Turkey collapsed into a heap of twisted metal and chunks of concrete, rescuers and officials said.
Authorities suspected shoddy construction led to the collapse yesterday in the central city of Konya.
At least four people were killed and 22 others injured in the collapse, the government crisis centre in Konya said.
The body of a two-year-old girl was among those pulled out, officials said.
Konya Governor Ahmet Kayhan said at least 70 people were believed to be trapped in the rubble.
CNN-Turk television said the number could be as high as 150.
“We heard a gigantic crash,” said Yeter Oguz, the owner of a pastry shop near the collapsed building. “There was so much dust in the air that it took us 10 minutes to figure out which building collapsed.”
The floors of the building had mostly collapsed into each other, leaving a pile of rubble and floors pancaked on top of each other that reached about two stories high.
Dozens of rescue workers combed through the rubble wearing face masks to protect themselves from the dust of the pulverised concrete that once made up the walls of the building.
One rescuer carried a panicked man out of the rubble, while a young girl helped an elderly woman walk away from the wreckage.
A distressed middle-aged woman wandered around, calling out the names of her loved ones.
The building housed 37 apartments and 138 people had been registered as residents, officials said.
It was unclear how many people were in the building at the time of the collapse. Yesterday was Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday in which it is traditional to visit friends and relatives.
The injured were taken to local hospitals as rescuers used digging equipment and their bare hands to search for survivors.
From time to time, loudspeakers asked for silence as rescuers listened for signs of those trapped.
Critics often complain about shoddy construction in Turkey and have blamed it for high death tolls in past earthquakes and other disasters.
On Saturday, two wooden buildings collapsed in Istanbul, killing six people and injuring one other.
In June, a dormitory housing high school students collapsed after what appeared to be a gas explosion, killing 10 students.
In May, a dormitory in eastern Turkey collapsed during a magnitude 6.4-earthquake, killing 84 students. Critics blamed the building’s collapse on shoddy construction.
