Building contractors detained as quake death toll passes 33,000

ANTAKYA (AP):

Turkish justice officials targeted more than 130 people allegedly involved in shoddy and illegal construction methods as rescuers extricated more survivors, including a pregnant woman and two small children, six days after a pair of earthquakes collapsed thousands of buildings.

The death toll from Monday's quakes that hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria stood at 33,179 on Sunday and was certain to rise as search teams locate more bodies in the rubble. The authorities said more than 92,600 other people were injured in the disaster.

As despair also bred rage at the agonisingly slow rescue efforts, the focus turned to who was to blame for not better preparing people in the earthquake-prone region that includes an area of Syria that was already suffering from years of civil war.

Even though Turkey has, on paper, construction codes that meet current earthquake-engineering standards, they are too rarely enforced, explaining why thousands of buildings slumped onto their side or pancaked downwards onto residents.

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Sunday that 134 people were being investigated for their alleged responsibility in the construction of buildings that failed to withstand the quakes, according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency. He said that three had been arrested pending trial, seven people were detained and seven other were barred from leaving the country.

PUNISH ANYONE RESPONSIBLE

Bozdag has vowed to punish anyone responsible, and prosecutors have begun gathering samples of buildings for evidence on materials used in constructions. The quakes were powerful, but victims, experts and people across Turkey are blaming bad construction for multiplying the devastation.

The authorities at Istanbul Airport on Sunday detained two contractors held responsible for the destruction of several buildings in Adiyaman, the private DHA news agency and other media reported. The pair were reportedly on their way to Georgia.

One of the arrested contractors, Yavuz Karakus, told reporters on Sunday: "My conscience is clear. I built 44 buildings. Four of them were demolished. I did everything according to the rules," the DHA news agency reported.

Two more people were arrested in the province of Gaziantep suspected of having cut down columns to make extra room in a building that collapsed, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.

A day earlier, Turkey's justice ministry announced the planned establishment of 'Earthquake Crimes Investigation' bureaus. The bureaus would aim to identify contractors and others responsible for building works; gather evidence; instruct experts, including architects, geologists and engineers; and check building permits and occupation permits.

A building contractor was detained by the authorities on Friday at Istanbul Airport before he could board a flight out of the country. He had built a luxury 12-storey building called Ronesans Rezidans in the historic city of Antakya, in Hatay province. When it went down, it left an untold number of dead. He was formally arrested on Saturday.

In leaked testimony published by Anadolu, the man said the building followed regulations and he did not know the building didn't withstand the quakes. His lawyer suggested the public was looking for a scapegoat.

The detentions could help direct public anger towards builders and contractors, deflecting attention away from local and state officials who allowed the apparently substandard constructions to go ahead. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government, already burdened by an economic downturn and high inflation, faces parliamentary and presidential elections in May.

Survivors, many of whom lost loved ones, have turned their frustration and anger also at the authorities. Rescue crews have been overwhelmed by the widespread damage which has impacted roads and airports, making it even more difficult to race against the clock.