ISTANBUL (AP) - The Latest on the deadly collapse of an apartment building in Istanbul (all times local):
7:15 p.m.
Turkey’s health minister says the number of dead from the collapsed eight-story building in Istanbul has risen to 15.
Fahrettin Koca also told reporters Friday that 13 out of the 14 people who were rescued alive from the rubble remain hospitalized; seven of them are in serious condition.
The building in Istanbul’s mostly-residential Kartal district collapsed on Wednesday. The cause is under investigation but officials have said its top three floors were illegally built.
Koca made the announcement after visiting some of the injured at a hospital in Kartal.
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3:05 p.m.
Turkey’s interior minister says emergency teams have found three more bodies in the rubble of a collapsed eight-story building in Istanbul, increasing the death toll to 14.
Suleyman Soylu said Friday that rescuers were pressing ahead with efforts to reach other people trapped inside the debris. He did not say how many people remain unaccounted-for.
So far, 14 people have been pulled alive from the wreckage of the building in Istanbul’s mostly residential Kartal district. They include a 16-year-old boy who was rescued on Friday.
Soylu said: “We hope to bring out those inside safely.”
The minister promised punishment for anyone found responsible for the collapse at the end of an investigation.
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10:25 a.m.
Turkey’s interior minister says the number of dead from the collapse of an eight-story apartment building in Istanbul has increased to 11.
Suleyman Soylu made the announcement late on Thursday after emergency teams, assisted by sniffer dogs, found one more body in the wreckage from Wednesday’s collapse in Istanbul’s mostly residential Kartal district.
Friends and relatives on Friday continued to wait near the wreckage for news of their missing loved ones.
So far, 13 people have been pulled out of the wreckage alive.
Officials have not disclosed how many people are unaccounted-for, and it is not clear if rescuers hope to find any more survivors.
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