Three children killed, one critically injured in Istanbul apartment fire

ISTANBUL

Three children died and another was critically injured after a fire broke out for unknown reasons early Dec. 11 on the ground floor of a two-story building in Istanbul’s Pendik district, authorities said.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene after neighbors reported heavy smoke coming from the apartment.

Residents managed to pull four children from the burning home before firefighters extinguished the flames.

The victims, aged two, nine and 11, were taken to nearby hospitals but did not survive, officials said.

A fourth 5-year-old child was placed on a ventilator and later transferred to a research hospital.

According to initial reports, the children’s 28-year-old mother had left them at home while she took another child to the hospital. She was not present at the time of the fire and was briefly detained for questioning before being released.

Neighbors described frantic attempts to save the children as smoke filled the building.

“When we reached the entrance, the fire had already spread. We broke the window and tried to get the children out,” said resident Dursun Yeniyayla.

Another neighbor, Şükran Yeniyayla, said thick smoke made it difficult to enter. “I kicked the door and tried to get inside, but the smoke was overwhelming. We managed to break the window bars and pull the children out,” she said.

She added that when she called the children’s mother, the woman pleaded over the phone: “Please, I beg you, save my children.”

Police have opened an investigation into the cause of the blaze.