Large-scale destruction in Turkey
While on paper Turkey has building codes that meet current seismological standards, these codes are rarely followed.
Turkey has detained or issued arrest warrants for about 130 people believed to be involved in the construction of buildings that collapsed in earthquakes and killed their inhabitants, the AP news agency reported.
Now the attention of the Turkish authorities has focused on who is to blame for the fact that the earthquake-prone region did not carry out the necessary preparations in case of a natural disaster.
While on paper Turkey has building codes that meet current seismological standards, these codes are rarely followed. This explains, in part, why thousands of buildings were completely destroyed.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said late on Saturday that arrest warrants had been issued for 131 people suspected of being involved in the building collapse.
Turkey’s justice minister vowed to punish all those responsible, and prosecutors began collecting building samples for evidence regarding the materials used in the construction.
The quakes were powerful, but victims, experts and people across Turkey are blaming poor construction for increasing the devastation.
Two contractors responsible for the destruction of several buildings in Adiyaman were detained at Istanbul Airport on Sunday.
In the province of Gaziantep, two more people were arrested, suspected of cutting down pillars to create additional space in a collapsed building.
A day earlier, the Turkish Ministry of Justice announced the planned establishment of an earthquake-related crime investigation bureau.
As of Sunday morning, the death toll from earthquakes in the two countries exceeded 28,000, and more than 80,000 were injured.
Recall that the UN predicts an increase in the number of victims of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. The organization believes that the death toll could reach 50 thousand people.
