Turkiye Arrests 184 People Related to Building Collapse during Earthquake

ISTANBUL, KOMPAS.com – Turkiye has arrested 184 people suspected of being responsible for building collapses in this month’s earthquake. The investigation was directed to that.

A minister on Saturday (25/2/2023) confirmed this, responding to much outrage over what was perceived as a corrupt building.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the earthquake on February 6 rose to 44,128 in Turkiye.

Also read: Turkiye Rebuilds Homes for 1.5 Million Residents Affected by the Earthquake

That brings the overall death toll in Turkiye and neighboring Syria to more than 50,000.

According to Reuters, more than 160,000 buildings containing 520,000 apartments collapsed or were badly damaged in Turkiye in the disaster, the worst in the country’s modern history.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said that more than 600 people had been investigated in connection with the collapsed buildings, speaking at a news conference in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, which is among 10 provinces hit hard by the disaster.

Those formally arrested and detained include 79 construction contractors, 74 people who bear legal responsibility for buildings, 13 property owners and 18 people who have made changes to buildings, he said.

Many Turkiye people have expressed anger at what they see as corrupt building practices and flawed urban development.

President Tayyip Erdogan, who faces the biggest political challenge of his two decades in office in elections scheduled for June, has vowed accountability.

Also read: Turkiye Speeds Up Settlement Development After the Earthquake, 160,000 Buildings were Destroyed

In Gaziantep province, district mayor Nurdagi, who belongs to Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, was among those arrested as part of an investigation into the collapsed building.

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