Two children among three dead in Turkey tower block fire
DIYARBAKIR, Turkiye: Two children and an adult died Thursday when a fire broke out in a 13-story apartment block in Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkiye's Kurdish-majority southeast, local officials said.
Diyarbakir Governor Murat Zorluoglu said the fire began around 6:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) on the eve of Turkiye's Eid Al-Adha celebrations.
Footage from the scene showed rescuers evacuating people from the building by basket cranes as fierce flames raged from the roof.
Media reports said firefighters had managed to evacuate 38 people, including a baby, with Zorluoglu saying they had struggled with 'very intense smoke.'
'Seventeen wounded people were transferred to hospital for treatment but unfortunately three of them died, two of them children,' he said, without giving further details.
'If there is any negligence, those responsible will be held accountable.'
By nightfall, the fire had been brought under control and rescue teams had confirmed there was no one left inside, he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
An electric scooter is blamed for a violent fire that killed 4 in a French city
PARIS: Four people were killed in an 'extremely violent' blaze seemingly caused by a battery-powered electric scooter that tore through a 10-story housing block in Reims, the capital of France's Champagne region, authorities said Saturday. A 13-year-old jumped to his death from the 4th-floor apartment where the fire started in the early hours of Friday and a burned body found inside is believed to be that of his older brother, aged 15, said Reims prosecutor François Schneider. An 87-year-old woman and her 59-year-old son who lived on the 8th floor suffocated to death in the smoke, he said. Two people were seriously injured, including the dead boys' stepfather who was badly burned, and 26 others were treated in hospital for lighter injuries, he said. Schneider said there is 'no doubt' that the blaze was accidental, spreading quickly from the scooter that caught fire for reasons unknown. Battery fires 'are extremely difficult to extinguish' and fire officers battled the blaze for more than three hours, the prosecutor said.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan's Punjab deploys over 43,000 police personnel for security on Eid Al-Adha
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Punjab has deployed over 43,000 police officers and personnel across the province for the Eid Al-Adha holidays, state-run media reported, with police placing the province on high alert amid the prevalent security situation in the country. As per a report in the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) on Friday, the police personnel have been deployed to secure 28,074 mosques and 890 open-air Eid prayer venues. Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence in recent months. Scores of citizens have been killed in the past in militant attacks that have targeted mosques and tourist destinations on public holidays. 'According to the Punjab Police spokesperson, a comprehensive security strategy has been formulated to ensure the safety of mosques, Imambargahs, Eid congregations, and the general public,' APP said on Friday. The report said 445 Quick Response Force (QRF) teams will be stationed to enhance security readiness while 11,912 metal detectors, 225 walk-through gates and 10,466 CCTV cameras will be utilized during Eid prayers. In Punjab's provincial capital Lahore, over 9,000 personnel will be assigned to secure more than 5,000 Eid gatherings, the spokesperson confirmed. 'Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Dr. Usman Anwar has ordered heightened security measures for Eid-ul-Adha, citing the current national security situation,' the report said. Additional police will be deployed at parks and recreational spots during the Eid holidays to ensure public safety. The Punjab Police chief also issued a strict warning against one-wheeling, aerial firing, kite flying and rowdy behavior, the report said, stating such acts will not be tolerated. He stressed all mosques, Imambargahs and Eid grounds must be thoroughly checked and cleared before Eid prayers. High-security mosques and Imambargahs (in category A) will have snipers posted on rooftops while plainclothes commandos will be deployed inside Eid congregations, the report said. 'The IG [inspector-general] also directed the Additional IG Traffic to personally oversee the traffic management plan across Punjab, ensuring smooth flow of traffic during Eid,' APP said. It said police have been ordered to take preventive measures to combat street crimes and highway robberies, while extra personnel will be posted at key locations to maintain traffic flow during the holidays. 'Special instructions have been issued to ensure tourist safety in Murree and other tourist destinations,' it said. 'Authorities are required to enforce SOPs for vehicle entry and exit in Murree, the IG added.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
'No Eid' for West Bank Palestinians Who Lost Sons in Israeli Raids
Abeer Ghazzawi had little time to visit her two sons' graves for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha before Israeli soldiers cleared the cemetery near the refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. The Israeli army has conducted a months-long operation in the camp which has forced Ghazzawi, along with thousands of other residents, from her home. For Ghazzawi, the few precious minutes she spent at her sons' graves still felt like a small victory. "On the last Eid (Eid al-Fitr, celebrating the end of Ramadan in March), they raided us. They even shot at us. But this Eid, there was no shooting, just that they kicked us out of the cemetery twice", the 48-year-old told AFP. "We were able to visit our land, clean up around the graves, and pour rosewater and cologne on them", she added. Eid al-Adha, which begins on Friday, is one of the biggest holidays in the Muslim calendar. As part of the celebrations, families traditionally visit the graves of their loved ones. In the Jenin camp cemetery, women and men had brought flowers for their deceased relatives, and many sat on the side of their loved ones' graves as they remembered the dead, clearing away weeds and dust. An armored car arrived at the site shortly after, unloading soldiers to clear the cemetery of its mourners who walked away solemnly without protest. Ghazzawi's two sons, Mohammad and Basel, were killed in January 2024 in a Jenin hospital by undercover Israeli troops. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group claimed the two brothers as its fighters after their deaths. Like Ghazzawi, many in Jenin mourned sons killed during one of the numerous Israeli operations that have targeted the city, a known bastion of Palestinian armed groups fighting Israel. -'There is no Eid'- In the current months-long military operation in the north of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, Israeli forces looking for militants have cleared three refugee camps and deployed tanks in Jenin. Mohammad Abu Hjab, 51, went to the cemetery on the other side of the city to visit the grave of his son, killed in January by an Israeli strike that also killed five other people. "There is no Eid. I lost my son -- how can it be Eid for me?" he asked as he stood by the six small gravestones of the dead young men. The Israeli military did not offer details at the time but said it had carried out "an attack in the Jenin area". "There's no accountability, no oversight", lamented Abu Hjab. "One of the victims (of the strike) was just a kid, born in 2008 -— so he was only 16 years old." "I still have three other children. I live 24 hours a day with no peace of mind", he added, referring to the army's continued presence in Jenin. All around him, families sat or stood around graves at Jenin's eastern neighborhood cemetery, which they visited after the early morning Eid prayer at the city's nearby Great Mosque. The mosque's imam led a prayer at the cemetery for those killed in Gaza and for the community's dead, particularly those killed by the Israeli army. Hamam al-Sadi, 31, told AFP he has visited the cemetery at every religious holiday since his brother was killed in a strike, to "just sit with him." -'Our only hope'- Several graves marked "martyr" -- a term broadly applied to Palestinian civilians killed by Israel -- were decorated with photos of young men holding weapons. Mohammad Hazhouzi, 61, lost a son during a military raid in November 2024. He has also been unemployed since Israel stopped giving work permits to West Bank residents after the Gaza war erupted. Despite the army's continued presence in Jenin, Hazhouzi harbored hope. "They've been there for months. But every occupation eventually comes to an end, no matter how long it lasts". "God willing, we will achieve our goal of establishing our Palestinian state. That's our only hope," he said. "Be optimistic, and good things will come".
