20 foreigners caught after escaping from deportation center in Istanbul: Interior Ministry

ISTANBUL

Some 20 foreigners, among the 123 who escaped from a deportation center in Istanbul on Nov. 19 after setting the building alight, have been caught by police, the Interior Ministry has announced.

The escapees, mostly Afghan and Pakistani citizens, escaped from the deportation center in Istanbul’s Kumkapı neighborhood at 11:00 a.m. after setting furniture at the building on fire. 

Firefighters and health personnel were dispatched to the scene, while others at the deportation center were immediately evacuated. Three foreigners at the center were taken to hospital and were later reported to be in a stable condition.

The ministry said in a statement that a total of 123 foreigners managed to escape from the deportation center, with 20 later caught by police.

Works to apprehend the remaining foreigners were ongoing, it added.

An investigation into the incident has been opened and public personnel guilty of negligence over the incident have been suspended from their duties, the ministry stated. 

Police teams intensified their work early on Nov. 20 to apprehend the fleeing foreigners in the Aksaray neighborhood near the deportation center. A number of suspected foreigners who did not own passports and identity cards were detained during police searches and were later transferred to the deportation center following security proceedings.