UPDATE – 1 killed, 8 injured as apartment building collapses in Istanbul

CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE, UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL

By Gokce Karakose and Mustafa Hatipoglu

ISTANBUL (AA) – One person was killed and eight others were injured when an apartment building collapsed on Sunday morning in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul.

The body was found under the rubble of a three-story apartment building constructed in 1988 in the Kucukcekmece district of the city.

After the building collapsed, one person emerged from the rubble on his own, informing the rescue teams about those trapped inside.

Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said two injured people are in serious condition.

One of the two seriously injured people in the hospital is identified as a 6-month-old girl.

The district municipality teams evacuated three buildings surrounding the collapsed one as a precaution.

While the cause was not immediately known, the judicial and administrative processes related to the incident are underway.

"During the first on-site inspections, sea sand was used in its construction, and interventions were made to disrupt the statics of the building in later stages,” said Mehmet Ozhaseki, the minister of environment, urbanization and climate change, on X.

The owner of the building, H.M.G., was arrested after the incident.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar