Grandmother wounded in fall after officials failed to fix broken pipe

MANİSA – Doğan News Agency

Locals said they reported the water pipe leak 20 days ago, but no measures have been taken. DHA Photo

A 60-year-old woman has been wounded after a road in front of her home collapsed due to a leaking underground pipe in the Soma district of the western province of Manisa.

Locals said they reported the leak in the water pipe 20 days ago, but no measures had yet been taken.

Emine Babur, a mother of three and a grandmother of six, fell into the hole in front of her house as she was attempting to place stones in front of her garden to prevent water from entering the area.

She was taken to hospital immediately after the incident but was later released with minor bruises.

“My grandchildren were playing in the garden. The water leaking from the broken pipe was entering the garden. I wanted to make a barrier with stones to stop the water getting in,” she said.

“Then the road collapsed. I was buried in mud up to my neck. One of my neighbors saw the incident and helped me get out of the hole. I was terrified and shocked,” Babur added, also accusing the authorities of inaction despite receiving reports about the broken pipe.

Water started to leak from the broken underground water pipe on Sept. 17, prompting locals to call the Manisa and Soma municipalities. However, no action was taken since the date by officials.

Her son, 32-year-old Mustafa Babur, criticized municipal officials.

“The pipe has been broken for 20 days. When we called the Soma Municipality, they told us to call the Manisa Municipality. The Manisa Municipality says the opposite. Nobody has dealt with this pipe for 20 days. Municipal officials only came here to fix the pipe after my mother fell into the hole. They didn’t pay attention until someone got hurt,” said Babur.

He also said they had complained to the district police department and planned to file a criminal complaint.

The district of Soma was the site of Turkey's worst ever industrial accident in May, when 301 coalminers lost their lives.