At least two people have died after a seven-storey building in Istanbul, Turkey, partially collapsed, officials said. Rescue teams were still trying to reach at least two people believed to be trapped inside, according to information released on Thursday.
According to officials, the building's lower three floors — including a ground-floor shop — caved in before dawn in Maltepe district, on the Asian side of Istanbul, the city that straddles the Bosporus strait. Residents on the upper floors were evacuated safely, while search-and-rescue teams pulled eight more people from the rubble.
The Istanbul Governor's Office said rescuers had recovered two bodies and were trying to reach two people thought to remain inside. Earlier, Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said rescue teams had made contact with a six-year-old girl trapped in the rubble; it was not immediately clear whether she was among those rescued.
Gul also warned that the building risked collapsing further, complicating the rescue effort. According to the governor, neighbouring buildings were also evacuated as a precaution.
The cause of the collapse was not immediately determined and authorities have opened an investigation. Istanbul and many other parts of Turkey are carrying out urban transformation programmes aimed at replacing old buildings vulnerable to earthquakes with safer housing.
Photo source: AFP
