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Turkey detains four over Istanbul building collapse: report
ISTANBUL, Feb 14, 2019 (AFP) – Turkish authorities on Thursday detained four
suspects over the collapse of an apartment building in Istanbul that claimed
the lives of 21 people, local media reported.
The suspects held over the collapse were identified as project officer
Suzan Cayir, technical implementation supervisor Ugur Misirlioglu, building
inspector Arzu Keles Boran and civil engineer Osman Misirlioglu, the state
run TRT television reported.
They are charged with “killing by negligence,” according to the NTV
television.
The eight-storey block where 43 people were registered as living, in the
residential district of Kartal on the Asian side of the city, crumbled last
week but the cause remains unclear.
Local officials said three storeys were illegally added — a common
practice in the country’s largest metropolis of around 15 million people.
The collapse fanned criticism of a government amnesty granted last year to
people accused of illegal building — a measure announced ahead of municipal
elections this March.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited the site on Saturday, said
authorities have “lessons to learn” from the incident.
BSS/AFP/RY/1642 hrs