Rescue workers in central Turkey have recovered the bodies of a 23-year-old woman and a man, believed to be her husband, from under the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in Konya. Three other individuals were pulled from the wreckage and are currently receiving medical treatment, according to state-run Anadolu news agency.
The collapse occurred amid increased scrutiny on building safety, following a devastating fire on Tuesday that claimed 78 lives at a 12-storey hotel in a north-western ski resort. Investigators are probing whether proper fire prevention measures were in place at the hotel.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that 79 people were registered as residents of the four-storey apartment building, located 160 miles south of Ankara. He also stated that the last two individuals trapped under the debris were Syrian nationals. The cause of the collapse remains under investigation, with Yerlikaya assuring that any negligence or fault will be identified.
Emergency responders were seen working tirelessly through the rubble, with images of the scene emerging Saturday morning. Four individuals connected to businesses operating on the building’s ground floor were taken into custody as part of the ongoing investigation.
The incident serves as a grim reminder of the dangers posed by poor building practices, especially as Turkey approaches the second anniversary of a devastating earthquake that claimed over 59,000 lives in southern Turkey and northern Syria. The 2004 collapse of a 12-storey building in Konya, which killed 92 people, similarly highlighted issues of structural flaws and negligence.