▲ The site of the building collapse on the evening of the 5th (local time)
An aging building has collapsed in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, without any external shocks such as an earthquake.
According to agencies such as Anadolu Agency on the 6th (local time), a four-story building in the Bahçelievler district of western Istanbul collapsed with a loud roar at 8:00 PM the previous day.
There were no casualties as authorities had already evacuated all residents to nearby accommodations at 3:00 AM the previous day after receiving a report that sounds were coming from the building's pillars.
However, rescue teams conducted search operations considering the possibility that anyone remaining inside the building might be trapped under the rubble.
A resident named Demir described the situation at the time of the accident, saying, "I suddenly heard a loud noise while returning home in the evening," and adding, "The ground shook as if there was an earthquake, and the street was completely covered in dust."
The cause of the building collapse has not been identified.
Completed in 1988, the building consisted of 22 residential apartments and three commercial spaces.
Authorities initiated demolition work on nearby buildings to prevent additional accidents.
Warnings have been raised that the western region of Istanbul bordering the Sea of Marmara is densely packed with old buildings, which could lead to massive casualties in the event of a disaster.
Previously, a research team led by Professor Patricia Martínez-Garzón of the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) analyzed in a report published in the journal Science that an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 or higher could occur in the Sea of Marmara off Istanbul.
Researchers at the Marmara Active Fault Hazard Applied Research Center (MATAM) at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) also noted that tectonic energy has accumulated for a long time in the Sea of Marmara, raising the possibility of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
(Photo: Anadolu Agency, Yonhap News)
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