Ankara: Authorities on Monday detained the owner and the constructor of a residential building that collapsed during a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in northwestern Turkey, as part of an investigation into possible negligence, an official said.
The quake struck the town of Sindirgi in Balikesir province on Sunday. It claimed the life of one elderly resident who died in the three-story apartment block that crumbled, and injured 29 other people throughout the region.
The tremor was felt as far away as Istanbul, nearly 200 km to the north, raising fears in the city of over 16 million people, which experts say is at high risk for a major earthquake. Sunday’s quake caused 16 structures to collapse.
The apartment building in Sindirgi was among the few inhabited structures to fall, prompting authorities to detain the owner and the constructor for questioning on suspicion of “causing death and injury by negligence,” Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said.