Seven-story building partially collapses in Istanbul, eight injured people rescued

A seven-story building in Istanbul’s Maltepe district partially collapsed on Thursday morning. The collapse caused panic and left several people trapped under the rubble.

The incident occurred at around 5:40 a.m. on Doğu Street, in the Sevizli neighborhood. For reasons that remain unknown, the building’s three lower floors collapsed. The upper floors remained standing, but the structure was deemed unstable, with a risk of further collapse.

Teams from the Fire Department, AFAD, police and health services immediately arrived at the scene. They began searching for people believed to be trapped under the rubble, while residents on the upper floors were helped out of the building.

According to published data, the building had 12 apartments and a total of 33 registered residents.

Istanbul Governor Davut Gül initially announced that five people had been rescued alive from the rubble and that seven others were believed to still be trapped. The teams had managed to communicate with four of them and were continuing efforts to locate the others.

The latest information from Turkish media reports that the number of injured people rescued from the building has reached eight. Meanwhile, ten people from the upper floors were safely evacuated.

Residents of the area said the collapse was accompanied by a loud noise and shaking. “We woke up as if there had been an earthquake,” one of them said.

After the collapse, a large cloud of dust covered the area. The part of the building that remained standing tilted, increasing concerns about another collapse. For this reason, the surrounding area has been cordoned off and rescue teams are operating carefully.

The authorities have launched technical, administrative and judicial investigations to determine the cause of the collapse of the first three floors. According to reports from Turkey, the building was constructed in 1987 and several shops operated on the ground floor.

The search and rescue operation is continuing, while the authorities are closely monitoring the condition of the remaining part of the building.