Fire tears through Istanbul apartment block, killing 29
The Peninsula
Istanbul: A fire that raged from the basement of a 16 storey block in central Istanbul left at least 29 people dead Tuesday, with flames and thick smo...
Istanbul: A fire that raged from the basement of a 16-storey block in central Istanbul left at least 29 people dead Tuesday, with flames and thick smoke billowing for hours despite a massive emergency response.
By late afternoon around 20 fire trucks and ambulances were still crowded around the building.
A police cordon kept onlookers and traffic 100 metres (yards) away from the scorched facade, while an AFP reporter saw three exhausted firefighters sat on the ground with smoke-blackened faces and equipment.
The fire began at 12:47 (0947 GMT), the city governor's office said, but it was only in the late afternoon that Davut Gul's team announced the blaze was out.
As well as the 29 killed, one hurt person was still being treated in hospital, his office said.
