An abandoned five-storey building collapsed in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district in the early hours of Wednesday, damaging the building next to it. Search teams found no one under the debris, according to initial assessments reported by news agencies İHA and DHA.
The collapse happened at about 01:30 in the Kalyoncu Kulluğu neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, on Kurdela Sokak according to İHA and DHA. Broadcaster NTV reported that the building had been emptied as part of urban renewal (kentsel dönüşüm), the state-backed programme to demolish and rebuild ageing or earthquake-risky housing.
Three-hour search
Police, ambulance and fire crews were sent to the street after a call, NTV said. Because of the possibility that someone was inside the empty building, teams from AFAD, Türkiye’s disaster and emergency agency, and UMKE, the Health Ministry’s national medical rescue teams, searched the rubble with search-and-rescue dogs. After about three hours, initial checks showed no one was trapped and the search was ended, DHA reported via Yeni Şafak.
Debris from the collapse damaged the adjacent building, and its residents were evacuated, according to NTV. The reports did not say how many people were moved out. Debris removal was due to resume on Wednesday morning, the agencies said. The cause of the collapse was not yet known, and none of the reports quoted a statement from the Beyoğlu district governor’s office, the municipality or Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
Recent building safety cases in Istanbul
The collapse comes weeks after the deadly collapse of an occupied apartment building in Maltepe on 8 October, in which five people died. Background on Türkiye’s renewal programme: 2.38 million units renewed, TOKİ and Maltepe and the Yarısı Bizden renewal grant extended to the end of 2027.
For foreigners renting or buying in older parts of the city, our living in Istanbul guide covers districts and building age.
Sources
- Beyoğlu’nda 5 katlı metruk bina çöktü (NTV)
- Beyoğlu’nda 5 katlı metruk bina çöktü, ilk incelemelere göre can kaybı yok (İHA via Son Dakika)
- Beyoğlu’nda 5 katlı metruk bina çöktü: Arama çalışmaları tamamlandı (DHA via Yeni Şafak)
Photo: VikiPicture / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
