2 arrested over Istanbul building collapse
ISTANBUL
An Istanbul court on Feb. 14 ordered the arrest of two people in connection with deadly building collapse in the city last week.
Project head of the building Suzan Çayır, construction technician Uğur Mısırlıoğlu and safety technician Arzu Keleş Boran were detained on Feb. 14.
Later in the day, Osman Mısırlıoğlu, project and construction engineer, was also summoned to police headquarters to be questioned.
Two of the suspects, Çayır and Uğur Mısırlıoğlu, were arrested by the order of Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of Peace over the charges of “reckless killing and injury.”
The two others were released under judicial control and with a ban on traveling abroad.
A seven-story building in Kartal district collapsed last week.
Twenty-one people lost their lives in the incident and 14 people were rescued from the debris.
Turkish media said three floors of the structure had been illegally built.
The allegations that some columns in the basement were removed and sea sand was used in the construction will also be investigated, according to judicial sources.
During a visit to the scene on Feb. 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: “We have a great number of lessons to learn from this. We will take the necessary measures.”
Meanwhile, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu accused an official of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of being complicit in the death of 21 people.
“The man who allowed these three illegal floors is currently the mayor of Erzurum,” the CHP leader said on Feb. 12, referring to Mehmet Sekmen, who previously was mayor of Kartal.
