ISTANBUL (AP) — A seven-story apartment building in Turkey’s northwestern city of Gebze collapsed early Wednesday morning, trapping five people under the rubble.
Gebze Governor İlhami Aktas told reporters that it has been confirmed that the people under the rubble are members of one family. It is not yet known if there are any casualties.
Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate, or AFAD, teams are on site conducting rescue operations.
State-run Anadolu Agency reports that the cause of the collapse is currently unknown.
Mayor of Gebze Zinnur Büyükgöz, speaking to local media, suggested the collapse might be related to nearby metro construction.
Gebze lies along the north Anatolian fault line and was one of the main centers hit during 1999’s magnitude 7.6 earthquake, which killed an estimated 18,000 people in total.
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