15 dead and eight injured in fire in Istanbul. Entire sections of walls blackened and still smoking, and firefighters rushing in search of survivors.
Fire broke out during work carried out in the basement of a 16-story residential building located in Gayrettepe, a district of the central Besiktas district. Nearly 90 firefighters are also mobilized, with around thirty vehicles, according to the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah. Teams of doctors and police officers were also dispatched to the scene. “The fire has been brought under control. Let’s hope there are no more victims,” says newly reappointed mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu.