(AA Photo)
Search and rescue operations are underway in Istanbul’s Maltepe district after a partial collapse of a seven-story building early on Oct. 8 left two dead and two others trapped beneath the rubble, with crews operating amid warnings of further collapse.
The building in the Cevizli neighborhood was constructed in 1987. Its ground floor and two upper floors collapsed before dawn, while the remaining four floors tilted to one side. The ground floor housed a textile workshop.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gül said 33 people were officially registered as living in the building, which contained 12 apartments. Four apartments on the collapsed floors were registered as housing 14 people.
Ten people, including three children, were rescued alive, while the bodies of two others were recovered. Two people were still being sought in the rubble.
Rescue operations were temporarily halted after teams detected movement in the structure, raising concerns that the remaining section could collapse. Nearby buildings were also evacuated as a precaution. Firefighters were deployed with 56 vehicles, 175 personnel and a search-and-rescue dog, while the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) sent five vehicles, 25 personnel and two search dogs.
While Gül noted that municipal records show no prior safety complaints against the building, Maltepe Mayor Esin Köymen stated that an initial archive review revealed the top two floors were constructed illegally after the occupancy permit was issued.
An investigation has been launched into the collapse. A deputy chief prosecutor and two prosecutors, along with two inspectors, were appointed to examine the building’s planning, construction and renovation history and determine whether any public officials had been negligent or responsible.
The incident has also renewed concerns over Istanbul’s aging and potentially unsafe building stock. The city has been carrying out an urban transformation program aimed at replacing buildings vulnerable to earthquakes, particularly those constructed before the 1999 Marmara earthquake.
Following the devastating 2023 earthquakes in southeastern Türkiye, applications for Istanbul’s municipal rapid building-screening program surged into the thousands per day. Demand has since fallen to about 500 applications a day.
The Istanbul Municipality says it has conducted rapid risk assessments on about 40,000 buildings out of 170,000 applications, identifying 18,800 pre-1999 structures as high or very high risk.
The rapid screening program assesses a building’s concrete and reinforcement quality, structural design and compliance with its approved plans to estimate its earthquake safety. The assessment is not legally binding and requires unanimous approval from residents to apply.
