Building collapse kills four family members in Turkey
An apartment building collapsed in northwestern Türkiye, trapping a family of five under the rubble and killing four of them.
State television TRT news channel announced that those who died in the earthquake in Gebze were the Bilir family: Father Levent (43), mother Emine (37), daughter Hayrunnisa (14) and son Muhammed Emir (12).
While rescue teams rescued the eldest sibling, 18-year-old Dilara Bilir, the bodies of the younger children were recovered on Wednesday evening, but the search for the mother and father continued.
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Mehmet Aktaş told reporters on Thursday morning that the bodies of the parents were found overnight.
TRT said 627 rescuers were assigned to the scene.
While the State Anadolu Agency stated that the cause of the collapse of the 7-storey building was unknown, Mayor Zinnur Büyükgöz suggested to the local press that the collapse might be related to the nearby subway construction.
Gebze is also located on the North Anatolian fault line and was one of the main centers hit by the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in 1999, which killed approximately 18,000 people.
Experts have long warned that Türkiye’s failure to implement modern construction codes poses significant risks in earthquake-prone regions.
In January, the collapse of a 4-storey building in Konya killed two people. Tradesmen who rented the ground floor are being prosecuted to determine whether they removed support columns to provide more space, a common practice despite heavy fines.
If convicted, they could face up to 22 years in prison.
