One killed in explosion during repairs at police building in Turkey’s Diyarbakır

DİYARBAKIR

AP photo

One civilian personnel was killed in an explosion that occurred during the repair of a panzer vehicle at a police building in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on April 11, the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office has announced.

A huge explosion occurred at 10:47 a.m. at an additional police building of the headquarters in the central Bağlar district. Many buildings nearby and vehicles were damaged as the sound of the explosion was heard across the province.

A number of ambulances, firefighters and rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the scene where a big hole was also created due to the explosion. The repair shop also collapsed after the explosion.

Four wounded people, one in a critical condition, were taken to hospitals, while another was rescued from under rubble, Doğan News Agency reported.

The Diyarbakır Governor’s Office later said in a statement that one civilian personnel was killed in the explosion.

“An unknown explosion occurred today at 10:47 a.m. during the repair of a panzer vehicle at the repair shop of the maintenance and repair department in the provincial police directorate. Our AFAD [the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority] and 112 [medical] teams were dispatched to the scene immediately after the explosion. As a result of the explosion, one civilian personnel was killed despite all efforts in the hospital. The treatment of the wounded is ongoing in hospitals,” the statement read.

It also added that a judicial and administrative investigation had been launched into the incident and further details would be announced later.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. However, authorities said the possibility of a terror attack was unlikely according to initial findings and its exact cause is currently being investigated.

In addition, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu also refuted any other outside involvement regarding the explosion and said it originated from the vehicle during the repairing process.

Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also called Diyarbakır Governor Hüseyin Aksoy to obtain information on the explosion.

The building was the scene of an outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) car bomb attack on Nov. 4, 2016, that killed nine people and injured over 100.