Warnings current toll of of 33,000 from earthquake that struck parts of Turkey and Syria could double
, the arrests are likely to be seen as an attempt by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who faces tough elections in May, to deflect blame.
Opposition leaders have long accused Erdoğan’s government of not enforcing building regulations and of failing to account for the proceeds of a levy imposed after the 1999 İzmit earthquake to ensure apartment blocks and offices were more quake-resistant. The residential block, which contained 249 apartments, was completed only a decade ago. Coskun told prosecutors he did not know why it had collapsed. “We fulfilled all procedures set out in legislation,” he told the state news agency, Anadolu.
Tens of thousands of rescue workers continue to scour flattened neighbourhoods despite subzero winter weather, and a dwindling number of survivors are still being extracted from the rubble, some more than 140 hours after the quake.
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