ANKARA: Turkish authorities have expanded a criminal probe into individuals responsible for buildings levelled by a deadly earthquake with 564 suspects identified, the interior minister has announced.
A 7.8-magnitude tremor on February 6 and its aftershocks have killed more than 43,000 people in Turkiye and left millions without homes.
“160 of them have been detained, 18 are in police custody and 175 have been released on bail,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in an interview on the state-run TRT Haber channel late Wednesday.
“We have banned all of those under investigation from traveling. Nothing is more precious than human life.
“We are being thorough.”
Tens of thousands of buildings collapsed without warning following the violent tremor as many people slept.
Turkish media has vocally criticized developers for using shoddy materials and failing to comply with construction codes.
In the face of growing anger, several developers were arrested in the first days following the earthquake.
“1,250,000 buildings were examined in 11 provinces. 164,321 buildings made up of 520,000 independent units have already been destroyed, severely damaged or urgently need to be destroyed,” Environment Minister Murat Kurum announced on Thursday.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced plans to rebuild 270,000 homes in the devastated provinces within one year.
“We are making plans taking into account the cultural landscape, our children’s future and guaranteeing our towns are on safe ground,” Kurum added.
“We will build the new housing with this in mind.”
Turkiye expands probe into construction sector after quake
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Turkiye expands probe into construction sector after quake
- “160 of them have been detained, 18 are in police custody and 175 have been released on bail,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said
- Tens of thousands of buildings collapsed without warning following the violent tremor as many people slept
