Police officers, paramedics and firefighters work at the scene of the building collapse.
At least two people were killed when a seven-story building collapsed Wednesday in an eastern suburb of Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city.
Dramatic footage of the incident shows the flattened residential building, in the city’s eastern Maltepe district, with rescue workers at the scene searching through the rubble for trapped people.
Six people have been pulled from the rubble and are being treated in hospitals, according to a statement released by the Istanbul governor’s office on Wednesday.
A team of 86 rescue workers and 26 fire trucks was at the site Wednesday evening, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported.
The building had 14 apartments with 27-30 residents inside when it collapsed, according to Anadolu.
Fifteen residents are thought to be under the rubble, according to Zeki Dag, a local administrator of the neighborhood quoted by Anadolu.
The governor’s office statement highlighted the need for silence around the collapsed building so rescue workers will be able to hear sounds from those who may remain under the rubble.
The area around the collapsed building has been lit, with the expectation that the search and rescue efforts will continue into the night, the statement said.
