DIYARBAKIR, Turkiye: A mother and three children died Thursday when a fire broke out in a 13-story apartment block in Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkiye’s Kurdish-majority southeast, local officials said.
Diyarbakir Governor Murat Zorluoglu said the fire began around 6:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) on the eve of Turkiye’s Eid Al-Adha celebrations.
He said “more than 30 people” were evacuated from the tower block, 17 of whom were taken to hospital after being affected by the “very intense smoke.”
Four of them had died — three children and a mother, he said, without specifying if all of them were her children.
But Mehmet Galip Ensarioglu, a local MP from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said they were “all from the same family.”
Footage from the scene showed rescuers evacuating people from the building by basket cranes as fierce flames raged from the roof.
By the end of the evening, only 10 people were left in hospital, “nine in good condition, and one in moderate condition,” Zorluoglu said.
“If there is any negligence, those responsible will be held accountable,” he added.
By nightfall, the fire had been brought under control and rescue teams had confirmed there was no one left inside, he said.