Report unveils negligence in collapsed building in Feb 6 disaster

TRABZON

A group of academics have submitted an expert report to the prosecution revealing substantial negligence and flaws in the construction process of 500 buildings, including three widely covered structures, which collapsed during the Feb. 6 earthquakes, and resulted in numerous fatalities.

According to the report by the academics from Karadeniz Technical University's Department of Civil Engineering, there were various lapses, from the on-paper approval of concrete quality to the failure to adhere to the approved and seemingly earthquake-resistant project in the field, leading to the collapse of the 500 buildings.

The media extensively reported on the negligence in Isias Hotel, Ebrar Site and Renaissance Residence, causing public outrage.

"We have been dealing with 4,000 case files for seven months. In a collapsed building, sometimes there could be dozens or hundreds of casualties, and there are piles of data, paper and files. Working diligently with a large team, we identify the parameters that caused the building to collapse and if there are any culprits," said Ahmet Can Altunışık from the department.

"We also examine the files of those who conducted inspections and prepared expert reports on the building after its collapse, trying to form a general opinion," he added.

Providing information from the report they prepared for Isias Hotel, where 65 people, including many children, lost their lives in Adıyaman, Altunışık mentioned that the regulations for hotels and apartments differ. He pointed out that the hotel was initially built as an apartment and later provided accommodation services.

Altunışık, who examined the wreckage of the hotel, stated, "When you look at the pictures, you can see it as if you filled sand into a bucket and turned it upside down. You can observe that the way the building collapsed is similar to the spreading pattern of sand after lifting the bucket."

Explaining their report for Ebrar Site, consisting of 20 buildings in Kahramanmaraş, Altunışık highlighted that the observed damage was almost identical for all 20 blocks.

"While the core strengths meet the requirements for the foundation, they are not sufficient for the superstructure. It was revealed that there were significant deficiencies, such as not adhering to the project during the application of stirrup tightening, tie rods, and hooks. This is also among the main reasons for the building's collapse."

In Hatay, despite being newly constructed, hundreds of lives were lost, and Altunışık added that the materials used in Renaissance Residence were of low quality.