Turkey earthquake: 130 contractors detained over collapsed buildings; UN says toll may reach 50,000

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said that the death toll of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria may increase to50,000.On Saturday, Griffiths visited the southern city of Kahramanmaras in Turkey, which was the epicentre of the first earthquake of 7.8-magnitude that upturned the lives of millions in Monday's pre-dawn hours.Speaking to Sky News, Griffiths said, “I think it is difficult to estimate precisely as we need to get under the rubble but I'm sure it will double or more. We haven't really begun to count the number of dead.”

According to officials, the death toll currently stands at 34,000. Since six days have passed, there is less probability of people under the debris being found alive.

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Police detain around 130 contractors over collapsed buildings

According to the state media, police in quake-hit Turkey have detained around 130contractors after multiple buildings collapsed in the country's south-eastern provinces of Sanliurfa and Gaziantep.

As per the DHA news agency, the people taken into custody includes contractors. Around 6,000 buildings collapsed in the devastating earthquakes that hit the region on Monday, sparking anger in the public over the poor quality of construction.

Police officials are expected to detain more people after Turkey's Vice President Fuat Oktay on Saturday said that 113 arrest warrants have been issued by the prosecutors over the collapseof buildings.

One of the persons detained was a contractor for a collapsed building in Gaziantep, said the agency, adding that the police caught him in Istanbul.

A wave of investigations has been launched by the prosecutors in provinces which have been hit, including Kahramanmaras. The justice ministry has asked the prosecutors to set up special "earthquake crimes investigation offices" in the 10 provinces.

On Friday, another contractor was apprehended by the Turkish police after the high-rise luxury flats, he was associated with, had collapsed in Hatay province.

The police detained him at Istanbul airport whenhe was trying to flee the country, reports suggested.

Miracle rescues as toll climbs

On Saturday, an elderly woman and a two-month-old baby were rescued from the rubble. Thousands of rescue workers are still searching for survivors in flattened neighbourhoods even as the misery of the survivors escalates amidfreezingweather. However, amid despair, loss and destruction, stories of miraculous survival continue to emerge.

The rescue workers found a two-month-old baby alive in the city of Antakya, 128 hours after the quake, reported state news agency Anadolu.

Meanwhile, families held each other tightly in grief, as a cotton field was transformed into a cemetery as countless bodies arrived for burial.

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Violence disrupts rescue operations

Meanwhile, outbreaks of violence in southern Turkey hampered the ongoing rescue operations to find survivors. The search operations were paused by the Austrian army and German rescuers on Saturday, because of fighting between unidentified groups.

Austrian army spokesperson Lt Col Pierre Kugelweis said that altercations between factions in the Hatay province forced the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit's personnel to take shelter in a base camp along with other international organisations.

In a statement, Kugelweis said, “There is increasing aggression between factions in Turkey. The chances of saving a life bears no reasonable relation to the safety risk.”

Turkish Ministry of Defence confirmed that the rescue operation was resumed by Austria after protection was provided by the Turkish army.

Operations were also suspended by Germany’s Federal Agency for Technical Relief (TSW) and the German branch of the search and rescue group Isar, citing similar security concerns.

Isar spokesperson Stefan Heine said, “There are more and more reports of clashes between different factions, shots have also been fired.”

German rescue teams confirmed that the rescue work will be resumed as soon as the situation is declared safe by the Turkish authorities.

(With inputs from agencies)

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