Türkiye arrests building contractors six days after quakes

Turkish officials detained or issued arrest warrants for some 130 people allegedly involved in shoddy and illegal construction methods as rescuers on February 12 continued to pull a few survivors from the rubble, six days after a pair of earthquakes collapsed thousands of buildings.

The death toll from Monday’s quakes that hit southeastern Türkiye and northern Syria stood at 28,191 — with another 80,000-plus injured — as of February 12 morning and was certain to rise as bodies continued to be uncovered, The Associated Press reports.

As despair also bred rage at the agonizingly slow rescue efforts, the focus turned to who was to blame for not better preparing people in the earthquake-prone region that includes an area of Syria that was already suffering from years of civil war.

Even though Türkiye has, on paper, construction codes that meet current earthquake-engineering standards, they are too rarely enforced, explaining why thousands of buildings slumped onto their side or pancaked downward onto residents.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said late on Saturday that warrants have been issued for the detention of 131 people suspected to being responsible for collapsed buildings.

Türkiye’s justice minister has vowed to punish anyone responsible, and prosecutors have begun gathering samples of buildings for evidence on materials used in constructions. The quakes were powerful, but victims, experts and people across Türkiye are blaming bad construction for multiplying the devastation.