Deadly Istanbul building collapse: Top 3 floors constructed illegally

The death toll from the collapse of a 7-story apartment building in Istanbul on Feb. 6 rose to 17 people.

Rescue workers try to remove rubble from a building which collapsed a day earlier in Istanbul, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya told reporters that rescue teams working overnight pulled 12 people out of the rubble with injuries and at least three people are confirmed dead. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

The death toll from the collapse of a seven-story apartment building in Istanbul’s Kartal neighborhood on Feb. 6 rose to 17 people, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

There are also 13 people still in the hospital, seven of whom are in intensive care, according to Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

Problems with illegally constructed buildings

Some 43 people were registered as living at the building, whose top three floors were constructed illegally, the state-run news agency Anadolu cited Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya as saying on Wednesday.

Rescuers are continuing to search for people who could be trapped, state TV channel TRT News reported on Saturday.

Related: Know these covered losses and exclusions after a collapse

“There are lots of lessons we need to learn from this incident,” Erdogan said after a visit to the hospital. There are very serious problems with illegally constructed buildings and the nation needs to support the government’s urban transformation initiative, he said, adding that “necessary” steps will be taken.

Zoning amnesty criticized

The government is drawing criticism for its so-called zoning amnesty, introduced last year and running through June, which has allowed the legal registration of about 13 million irregular or illegally constructed buildings.

The residents of the collapsed building in Kartal had applied for the amnesty program, which doesn’t require applicants to prove their buildings are safe, the Haberturk newspaper reported on Thursday.

“The disaster in Kartal is a result of the government’s wrong zoning policies,” Emin Koramaz, chairman of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, said in a statement on its website on Thursday. Koramaz called for the government to immediately end the initiative, which “vindicates all practices that compromise the safety of life and property.”

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