About 10 people have been trapped in the rubble of a commercial building that collapsed in Malatya, in eastern Turkey, and another 13 have been rescued, local officials said.
“About twenty people” were inside the building at the time of the accident, just before 5pm local time (4pm Greek time), Malatya Governor Aydin Barus told private news network A Haber.Remaining Time-0:00FullscreenMute
More than two hours after the rescue operation began, about ten people were still trapped in the rubble, according to Haberturk television.
Thirteen people were rescued and taken to hospital, according to the government’s Disaster Management Agency (AFAD).
“Search and rescue operations are continuing,” Turkish Presidency Communications Officer Fahrettin Altun said on Twitter.
Two injured are in serious condition, NTV clarified.
Malatya is a city of 450,000 inhabitants located 500 km east of the capital, Ankara.
The building, located on a busy Malatya street, housed several shops, including a restaurant and a cafeteria, according to Enver Kiraz, president of the local branch of the opposition CHP, who spoke to AFP.
“It is a busy road, passers-by have been injured,” he said.
The reasons for the collapse of the building have not been made known yet, however, according to Kiraz and local media, work was being done on the building.
Footage broadcast live from the scene shows a building turned into a pile of concrete and metal and rescuers, with the help of an excavator, trying to free people as night fell.
An eyewitness told Haberturk that he first heard “a creak and then the building collapsed into a cloud of dust. We thought it was time for a crisis.”
