One dead, four injured in Istanbul building collapse

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

One worker has died and four others were injured after a four-story building in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district collapsed.

Selahattin Kızılboğa, 62, a worker removing furnishings from a recently emptied apartment at the time of the collapse died while three workers identified as Ahmet Aktaş, 26, Serkan Şengül, 41, Hasan Akkurt, 65, and another worker yet unidentified were injured when the four-story building on Halk Street in Üsküdar’s Aziz Mahmud Hüdai neighborhood collapsed around 3:45 p.m. on Sept. 16.

Kızılboğa’s body was removed from under the debris following a five-hour effort by search and rescue teams as well as firefighters and taken to a training and research hospital in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district for medical examination, while one of the injured was reported to be in critical condition. 

The collapse purportedly occurred because of a crash at a construction site right behind the four-story building.

Firefighters, medical staff and police officers were dispatched to the scene in large numbers shortly after the collapse and the three people who were not critically injured were taken to hospital.

Akkurt, who was also trapped under debris and seriously injured during the collapse, was removed by firefighters after an hour and taken to hospital. 

A short dispute sparked between some relatives of the injured workers and police officers as the former, bursting into tears, were seen in a fierce debate with the construction company employees.

A video shot by a mobile phone right after the collapse showed passers-by around the site of the collapse rushing to the building in panic.

Also, a man working in an adjacent building was seen running out to avoid being trapped under the falling debris, a CCTV video shot from a nearby building showed.