A seven-storey apartment building partially collapsed in Istanbul’s Maltepe district early Thursday morning, leaving four people trapped under the rubble as emergency crews raced to rescue them.
The first three floors of the building collapsed at around 5.40am local time, with at least seven people reportedly inside the affected section at the time.
Three people have so far been rescued, while Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said rescuers remained in contact with the four others who were still trapped.
The building was home to 33 people, although residents on the upper floors were safely evacuated after the collapse. The property also housed several shops on its ground floors.
Gul said the seven-storey building was constructed in 1987. Emergency teams, including firefighters and search-and-rescue personnel, were deployed to the scene to search through the rubble for survivors.
Environment Minister Murat Kurum said authorities were using all available resources and continuing rescue operations without interruption.
“Work is continuing uninterrupted with great care and determination, leaving no possibility unconsidered, in order to reach our citizens under the rubble as soon as possible,” he said.
The cause of the collapse remains unknown. Authorities have launched an investigation to determine what led to the building’s partial collapse.
