Arrests after 29 perish in club fire
ISTANBUL: At least 29 people were killed when fire ripped through a closed basement level nightclub in central Istanbul and spread into the 16storey apartment block above.
Flames and thick smoke billowed from the building for hours as firefighters battled to free builders working on a renovation of the Masquerade nightclub in Istanbul’s Gayrettepe district after the fire broke out after midday on Tuesday.
The fire was contained and rescue efforts had ended by late afternoon and eight people were arrested.
The local mayor’s office said it had received “no request for authorisation” from the owners of the nightclub or the contractor “regarding any possible renovation of the premises”.
“No permit had been issued and no information provided.”
Local media also reported the 1500-capacity club lacked emergency exits and that basement columns had been removed, leaving it vulnerable to earthquakes.
Those arrested included the club’s owner and manager, as well as the head of the metalworking company carrying out the renovations.
As well as the 29 killed, one hurt person was being treated in hospital. It was not immediately clear whether the victims died from smoke inhalation or from the flames.
TV images from the scene showed large flames roaring from lower-storey windows, spewing a column of thick black smoke that hugged the building’s facade.
All the men working on the site had died, the Istanbul governor’s office said, without specifying whether they had accounted for all of the victims.
The nationalities of the victims are not yet known.
“I’ve lost four friends,” local man Fikret Kaya said as firefighters were leaving the scene, but could not say any more.
Not far from him, a woman wearing a black cap was weeping with her head in her hands.
The basement venue boasted several stages and regularly gave live concerts.