Two people have died, and 11 people have been rescued after three floors of a seven-story building partially collapsed in Istanbul’s Maltepe district early Thursday, authorities said.
The building on Doğu Street in the Cevizli neighborhood collapsed at around 5:40 a.m. for an undetermined reason, prompting the deployment of AFAD, firefighters, police, medical teams and the National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE).
Rescue teams evacuated residents from the unaffected upper floors and launched a search of the collapsed section. Five people, including two children, were initially pulled from the rubble, followed by the rescue of additional survivors.
According to the Istanbul Governor’s Office, the building was constructed in 1987 and consisted of a ground floor and six upper floors. The ground floor was used as a workplace, while the upper floors contained 12 apartments.
Thirty-three people were registered as living in the building, according to population registry records. Four apartments were affected by the collapse, with 14 people registered as residents.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gül said authorities were continuing to determine the number of people who may still be trapped under the rubble, noting that some registered residents were outside the city at the time of the collapse.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said the number of people rescued from the rubble had risen to 11, while two had died. He said search and rescue teams were continuing efforts to reach three people believed to remain trapped under the rubble.
Rescue operations are being carried out by 56 firefighting vehicles and 175 personnel, as well as five AFAD vehicles and 25 personnel. K-9 search-and-rescue dogs are also being used to locate people under the rubble.
A firefighter who fainted during the operation was taken to a hospital.
Authorities have evacuated buildings considered at risk around the collapsed structure as a precaution. Roads leading to the site have also been closed to traffic, while heavy machinery from nearby municipalities has been brought in to support the operation.
The Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched a judicial investigation into the collapse, with a deputy chief prosecutor and a prosecutor assigned to the case.
