17 students killed in Turkey building collapse

ISTANBUL, Turkey: Rescue workers searched for survivors late into Friday night in the rubble of a three-story dormitory housing female students in central turkey that collapsed after a pre-dawn gas explosion, killing at least 17 and injuring 25 others, officials said.

The workers had initially called off the search in the evening after they pulled out two survivors from the site of the blast in konya province, Mayor Mehmet Demirgul said. They were convinced no one else was trapped, he said.

But a military rescue team resumed its search after a family living in the area reported to police that their daughter, who had stayed the night at the dormitory, was missing, Demirgul said.

"We won't stop until we find her,'' he said. The cause of the blast remained under investigation but an initial assessment suggested that a leak of liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, was responsible, Demirgul said.

There had been reports earlier that up to six people were trapped in the rubble and the discrepancy in the numbers could not immediately be explained.

Gov. Osman aydin said about 40 to 45 girls, were staying at the dormitory. The students, aged eight to 16, were attending Quran courses during the school summer break.

The collapse of shoddy buildings in Turkey is a frequent occurrence in the country.

The head of the local civil engineers chamber, ugur Ibrahim altay, said the 18-year-old building was unlicensed. Demirgul said he did not know if that was the case.

“The quality of the concrete is very poor,'' altay said. “If better material was used, it would at least not have turned into rubble like this.''

anatolia news agency quoted one student, Merve avci, as saying she had got up to wash before pre-dawn prayers when she and some teachers heard a strange sound and went to the kitchen to investigate.

They saw a loose gas pipe and she returned to her room after the teachers told her to close the door, according to the report.

Soon after, avci said she smelled gas and there was an explosion, anatolia reported. Half of the building collapsed, but she was in the section that remained intact. She said flames rose from the basement toward the top of the building, according to anatolia.

Health Minister Recep Akdag said two of the injured students had severe burns and had been transported to the capital, Ankara, according to anatolia.

Television footage showed rescue workers with orange uniforms sifting through the wreckage, while dozens of curious onlookers watched them. At least four military helicopters, which brought in the rescue teams, ferried the injured to hospitals 160 kilometers (100 miles) away from the site.

A funeral was held for six of the dead students in a nearby mosque.

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Saturday, August 02, 2008 |

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