Turkey arrests construction contractors as earthquake death toll passes 33,000

Turkish justice officials targeted more than 130 people accused of engaging in shoddy and illegal construction methods as rescuers rescued more survivors, including a woman pregnant woman and two young children, six days after an earthquake destroyed thousands of buildings.

The death toll from Monday’s earthquake that hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria stood at 33,179 on Sunday and is sure to rise as search teams find more bodies in the rubble. Authorities said more than 92,600 others were injured in the disaster.

As desperation also fueled fury over painfully slow rescue efforts, the focus was on who was to blame for not better preparing people in vulnerable areas. earthquakes, including an area of ​​Syria that has suffered years of civil war.

Although on paper Turkey has building codes that meet current earthquake engineering standards, they are rarely enforced, which explains why thousands of buildings are tilted to one side. side or down on people.

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag on Sunday said 134 people were under investigation for their responsibility in constructing buildings that could not withstand earthquakes, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency. He said three people had been arrested pending trial, seven were detained and seven others were barred from leaving the country.

Bozdag vowed to punish anyone responsible, and prosecutors have begun collecting building samples as evidence of materials used in construction. The earthquakes are powerful, but victims, experts and residents across Turkey are blaming bad construction for increasing the extent of the devastation.

Authorities at Istanbul Airport on Sunday arrested two contractors responsible for destroying several buildings in Adiyaman, private news agency DHA and other media reported. The couple are said to be on their way to Georgia.

One of the contractors arrested, Yavuz Karakus, told reporters on Sunday: “My conscience is very clear. I have built 44 buildings. Four of them have been demolished. I have done everything. regulated things,” the news agency DHA reported.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said two more people were arrested in Gaziantep province on suspicion of chopping down poles to make more room in a collapsed building.

A day earlier, the Turkish Ministry of Justice announced plans to set up “Earthquake Crime Investigation” departments. The offices will aim to identify contractors and others responsible for the construction of the works, gather evidence, guide professionals including architects, geologists and engineers, and co-workers. time to check construction permits and occupation permits.

A construction contractor was detained by authorities on Friday at Istanbul airport before he could board a flight out of the country. He built a luxury 12-storey building called Ronesans Rezidans in the historic city of Antakya, in Hatay province. When it collapsed, it left countless dead. He was officially arrested on Saturday.

In leaked testimony released by Anadolu, the man said the building followed the regulations and he didn’t know the building wasn’t earthquake resistant. His attorney suggested the public was looking for a scapegoat.

The detentions could help direct public anger toward builders and contractors, deflecting attention away from state and local officials who have authorized the constructions. looks like below standard is conducted. The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, already burdened by an economic downturn and high inflation, will face parliamentary and presidential elections in May.

Survivors, many of whom have lost loved ones, have expressed frustration and anger towards the authorities. Rescue teams have been overwhelmed by widespread damage that has affected roads and airports, making it even more difficult to race against time.

Erdogan acknowledged earlier this week that the initial response had been hampered by widespread damage. He said the worst affected area is 500 kilometers (310 miles) in diameter and is home to 13.5 million people in Turkey. During a tour of earthquake-stricken cities on Saturday, Mr Erdogan said a disaster of this magnitude was rare and again called it the “catastrophe of the century”.

Rescuers, including crews from other countries, continue to probe the wreckage in the hope of finding additional survivors who can weather the growing odds. Thermal cameras were used to probe the concrete and metal piles, while rescuers asked for silence so they could hear the voices of those trapped.

A pregnant woman was rescued Sunday 157 hours after the earthquake in Hatay province, state broadcaster TRT said.

HaberTurk TV broadcast live the rescue of a 6-year-old boy from the rubble of his house in Adiyaman. The child was wrapped in a space blanket and taken to an ambulance. An exhausted rescuer took off his mask and took a deep breath when he could hear a group of women crying in joy.

Turkey’s Health Minister, Fahrettin Koca, posted a video of a young girl in a navy blue sweater being rescued. “Good news at the 150th hour. Freshly rescued by the rescue team, there’s always hope!” he tweeted.

Rescuers pulled out a man in Antakya, hours after hearing voices from beneath the rubble. Workers said the man, who appeared to be 20 or 30 years old, was one of nine people still trapped in the building. But when asked if he knew of any other survivors, he said he hadn’t heard any voices for three days.

The man waved weakly as they passed each other on a stretcher as workers clapped and chanted, “God is great!”

A group of German and Turkish aid workers rescued an 88-year-old woman alive from the rubble in Kirikhan, the German news agency dpa reported. The efforts of Italian and Turkish rescue teams also paid off when they pulled a 35-year-old man out of the rubble in the city of Antakya, which was hardest hit. Private broadcaster NTV reported that he appeared uninjured as he was carried to an ambulance on a stretcher.

Overnight, a child was also freed in the town of Nizip, in Gaziantep, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported, while a 32-year-old woman was rescued from the rubble of an eight-story building in the city of Antakya. According to NTV, the woman asked for tea as soon as she appeared.

In Kahramanmaras, near the epicenter of the first magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck early Monday morning, efforts were underway to reach a survivor discovered by sniffer dogs beneath the building. seven floors are now dilapidated, NTV reported.

However, those found alive are still the rare exception.

A large temporary cemetery is under construction on the outskirts of Antakya on Saturday. Excavators and bulldozers dug holes in the fields while trucks and ambulances loaded with black body bags kept coming. Hundreds of graves, spaced no more than 3 feet (1 meter) apart, are marked with simple wooden planks set upright on the ground.

Hatay airport, whose runway was damaged in the earthquake, was reopened on Sunday, the Ministry of Transport announced. That will help in getting some help in the area.

The picture is less clear of the situation across the border in Syria.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, visiting the Turkish-Syrian border on Sunday, said in a statement that the Syrians had been left “to seek international help” without coming.”

“So far, we’ve let people down in northwest Syria. They feel it’s right to be abandoned,” he said, adding, “It’s our duty and our duty to fix it. fail as quickly as possible.”

The first UN convoy to northwest Syria from Turkey was on Thursday, three days after the earthquake.

Before that, the only cargo passing through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border was the steady stream of bodies of earthquake victims – Syrian refugees who have fled war in the country. their families and settled in Turkey but were killed in Monday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake. earthquake – go home for burial.

Political disputes have also hindered aid convoys being sent from areas of northeastern Syria controlled by US-backed Kurdish groups to areas controlled by the Syrian government and Turkish-led rebels backers have been fighting the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces over the years.

According to the White Helmets rescue team, the death toll in the rebel-held area of ​​northwestern Syria has reached 2,166. The total death toll in Syria stood at 3,553 as of Saturday, although 1,387 deaths reported for government-controlled areas of the country have not been updated for days.