Turkey detains constructor after building collapses in earthquake

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Authorities on Monday detained the owner and the constructor of a residential building that collapsed during a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in northwestern Turkey, as part of an investigation into possible negligence, an official said.

The quake struck the town of Sindirgi in Balikesir province on Sunday. It claimed the life of one elderly resident who died in the three-story apartment block that crumbled, and injured 29 other people throughout the region.

The tremor was felt as far away as Istanbul, nearly 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the north, raising fears in the city of over 16 million people, which experts say is at high risk for a major earthquake.

Sunday’s quake caused 16 structures to collapse, most of them abandoned village homes, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.

The apartment building in Sindirgi was among the few inhabited structures to fall, prompting authorities to detain the owner and the constructor for questioning on suspicion of “causing death and injury by negligence,” Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said.

Of the 29 people who were hospitalized, 19 were discharged as of Monday, Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said. Those still hospitalized were not in serious condition, he added.

Meanwhile, more than 200 aftershocks have struck the region, the strongest measuring 4.6. They forced many residents to spend the night outdoors and sleep in cars out of fear that their homes might collapse, the national TV broadcaster HaberTurk reported.

Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent.

In 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed more than 53,000 people in Turkey and destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces. Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighboring Syria. The high death toll was blamed on widespread use of substandard construction methods, weak oversight and institutional failures.