Istanbul apartment block collapse: Girl, 5, pulled alive from rubble in Turkey
Turkish officials confirmed that 10 people have died in the disaster, situated in the Kartal district of Istanbul.
Thursday 7 February 2019 18:06, UK
A five-year-old girl has been rescued from the rubble of an eight-storey apartment building which collapsed in Istanbul.
Turkish officials said 10 people have died in the disaster in the Kartal district after the block came down around 4pm local time on Wednesday.
Another 13 people have been pulled out suffering injuries, including three who were seriously hurt.
Havva Tekgov, five, was rescued from the debris and placed on a stretcher 18 hours after the disaster.
As she was placed in an ambulance, a person in the crowd chanted "God is great" before the child was taken to hospital.
Her rescue came hours after a nine-year-old boy was pulled out alive.
Emergency teams worked around the clock in search of survivors after the collapse put the spotlight on illegal construction.
The tragedy also raised alarms over the possibility of major destruction if a large earthquake hit the city.
Istanbul governor Ali Yerlikaya said of the injured: "All our prayers, all our hearts are with them.
"We are continuing with our search and rescue efforts so that we can deliver good news (about survivors)."
At the time of the disaster, around 43 people were living in the building, which had 14 apartments.
Neighbour Cemile Dag said the collapse was a haunting reminder of the deadly earthquake that struck northwestern Turkey in 1999.
She said: "At first I thought a gas tank had exploded in our building. I looked behind me and the building, like a deck of cards, fell to the ground. There were wails, screaming."
Authorities said the top three floors had been illegally built and the cause of the collapse is still under investigation.
A majority of buildings in Istanbul are "either unlicensed, illegal or were constructed without any engineering services," according to the country's chamber of civil engineers.
Can Akin, of the Chamber of Geology Engineers, said many of the buildings were constructed without an adequate investigation of the ground conditions.
He said: "Istanbul is situated on a seismic belt.
"In the event of an earthquake in Istanbul, we could be faced with a dire picture."
It comes after Turkey's emergency management agency, AFAD, warned in August that up to 30,000 people could be killed in Istanbul if a magnitude-7.5 earthquake hit, with an estimated collapse of 44,802 buildings.