Two killed after partial building collapse in Istanbul's Maltepe district

Two people have been killed after a seven-storey building partially collapsed in Istanbul's Maltepe district, according to local officials. Emergency crews rescued eight survivors from the rubble as they continued searching for others believed to be trapped. The collapse happened before dawn on the Asian side of the city, where the lower three floors of the building, including a ground-floor shop, gave way.

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The Istanbul governor's office said rescuers had recovered two bodies and were trying to reach at least two more people believed to be inside. Governor Davut Gul said earlier that teams had made contact with a six-year-old trapped in the debris, although it was not immediately clear whether that child was among those later rescued. Officials said the cause of the collapse was not immediately known and that an investigation was under way.

They also warned that the structure remained at risk of further collapse, which slowed the rescue operation. Nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution while search teams worked at the site. Residents from the upper floors of the collapsed building were safely taken out, according to officials.

The incident has added to concerns about the safety of older buildings in Istanbul, a city that sits on a major fault line and has long faced pressure to improve its housing stock. Authorities in Turkiye have been carrying out an urban transformation programme aimed at replacing older and earthquake-prone buildings with safer homes. The collapse is significant because it comes in a city where building safety is closely tied to wider concerns about seismic risk and urban renewal.

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Istanbul is bisected by the Bosporus Strait and is one of the country's most densely populated cities, making any structural failure potentially disruptive beyond the immediate site. The fact that the lower floors caved in before dawn also raises questions about how many people were inside at the time and how quickly emergency services could reach them. For local authorities, the incident is likely to renew scrutiny of inspection, maintenance and redevelopment efforts.

The rescue operation involved emergency crews working amid fears of additional collapse, which limited access to parts of the wreckage. Officials have not said what caused the building to fail, and no immediate link has been established to any wider event. The available information indicates that the building was seven storeys high and that the collapse was partial rather than total, but the extent of internal damage remains unclear.

The governor's office has been the main official source of confirmed details so far. What remains unclear is whether all people believed to be trapped have been accounted for and whether the investigation will identify a structural, maintenance or other cause. Further updates are likely as rescue teams continue their work and officials assess the safety of surrounding buildings.

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