Blaze kills four in Turkey’s Diyarbakir

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Four members of the same family died, and more than a dozen others were injured late Thursday after a fire broke out in a residential building in Diyarbakir (Amed), the main city in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast, according to the governor.

The state-owned Anadolu Agency cited Governor Murat Zorluoglu as saying that a blaze at a 13-storey apartment building killed four, a mother and three of her children, and injured 13 others. 

“Three have been discharged so far. We have ten injured citizens in various hospitals. Nine of them are in good condition, one is at moderate level, so we don't have any injuries with life-threatening conditions remaining in hospitals,” he added. 

An investigation has been launched into the incident. 

“Hopefully, in the coming hours and days, the cause of the fire will certainly be revealed through technical investigations,” noted Zorluoglu. 

Footage from the scene showed rescuers lifting residents to safety with basket cranes while massive flames consumed the building’s roof.

The Diyarbakir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has assigned a deputy chief prosecutor and two prosecutors to investigate the fire. Initial suspicions point to the fire starting from an electrical panel, according to Anadolu Agency.