Building explodes in Turkey 2:38 PM 2/2/04

[SaddenedDem]

Reporting that it was the furnace, many people still missing from inside the building.

On TV, no link yet.

[rodbarnett]

1. Ten-Story Building Collapses in Turkey - LINK HERE

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- A 10-story building collapsed in central Turkey on Monday and an unknown number of people were said to be trapped inside, news channels reported.

There was no word on the cause of the collapse in the central city of Konya.

Private NTV television reported that "many people" were believed to have been inside the collapsed structure.

Private CNN-Turk television said seven people were rescued from the building, which housed about 40 apartments. The channel showed a building reduced to planks and pieces of concrete.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-turkey-building-collapse,0,4015526.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[if it comes from the whitehouse it must be true]

2. No t.v. news

fucking janet jacksons tit and trying to defend chimps budget are taking up air!!!!

[Soloflecks]

3. Additional details from CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/02/02/turkey.collapse.ap/index.html

The cause was not immediately clear. Some officials cited shoddy construction. Others suggested that an explosion in the building's heater may have been the cause.

"We heard a gigantic crash," said Yeter Oguz, the owner of a pastry shop near the collapsed building. "There was so much dust in the air that it took us 10 minutes to figure out which building collapsed."

Twenty people emerged from the rubble, according to the semiofficial Anatolia news agency. Konya Gov. Ahmet Kayhan said two people had been killed. One of the victims was a 2-year-old girl whose body was pulled from the rubble, officials said.

One rescuer carried a panicked man out of the rubble, while a young girl helped an elderly woman walk away from the wreckage. A distressed middle-aged woman wandered around, calling out the names of her loved ones.

About 50 people might still be trapped, rescuers said, although CNN-Turk television said the number could be as high as 150.

The building in Konya housed about 40 apartments, officials said. NTV television said 138 people had been registered as living in the building. It was unclear how many people were in the building at the time of the collapse. Monday was a religious holiday, and many spend the day visiting friends and relatives.

Many of those rescued were from the 5-year-old building's top floors and were in good condition, Anatolia said.

The injured were taken to hospitals as rescuers searched for more survivors using digging equipment and their bare hands. From time to time, loudspeakers asked for silence as rescuers listened for sounds of those trapped.

The disaster came as Turks celebrated the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday. The bottom floor of the building housed shops, which were closed at the time, CNN-Turk said.

Kayhan, the governor, said Monday that poor construction may have been the cause of this latest collapse. Local mayor Mustafa Ozkafa left open the possibility of an explosion.

Critics often complain about shoddy construction in Turkey and have blamed it for high death tolls in past earthquakes and other disasters.

more at the link