Dozens feared trapped after apartment block collapses in Istanbul

Dozens of people are feared trapped under the rubble of an apartment block in Istanbul, Turkey. At least one person has died while three of those injured have been rescued.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the collapse of the 7-storey building in the city’s Kartal district after 16:00 local time. Eyewitnesses told local news station NTV that people were still trapped under the debris.

At least one fatality has been recorded, while three of at least four people known to be trapped have been rescued.

Footage from the scene shows rescue workers frantically trying to clear the rubble to reach potential survivors. Tiles, concrete blocks and wooden beams can been seen tossed across the street.

Terrifying CCTV footage appears to have captured the moment of the collapse. It shows at least a dozen passers by running for their lives as the building crashes down in a pillar of smoke.

@KanalHava Maltepe’de 6 katlı binanın çökme anı güvenlik kameralarına böyle yansımış! Yoldan geçmekte olanlar da facianın eşiğinden dönmüşler! @Mikdatca

Local official Zeki Dag told media that more than a dozen families were living in the block’s 24 apartments, and a further 15-20 employees worked in a textile factory located in the building's basement. He added that no one was in the workshop at the time of the collapse.

@sotiridi #Breaking: At least one person has been killed and four others left under rubble after an eight-storey building collapsed on it own in #Istanbul in #Turkey private independent broadcaster NTV reports.

Istanbul governor Ali Yerlikaya said that a license to build a five-story block was granted in 1992, however, three further stories have been added illegally since then. He added that the basement factory was also operating without a business license.