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Collapsed building in Adiyaman
Photo: NECATI SAVAS/EPA
Six days after the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, numerous building contractors have now been arrested.
A businessman who is said to have been responsible for the construction management of numerous collapsed buildings in Adiyaman was caught with his wife at Istanbul Airport, the DHA news agency reported.
The two wanted to flee to Georgia with a large amount of cash.
Mehmet Yasar Coskun was arrested at Istanbul Airport on Friday when he tried to flee to Montenegro with an undisclosed amount of money.
The state news agency Anadolou initially did not provide any information on the reasons for the arrest.
Investigations against more than 130 people
The collapse of the 12-storey high-rise Rönesans Residence he had built in Antakya in Hatay province, which was particularly hard hit by the quake, caused particular outrage in the online media: The building with luxury apartments was built in 2013 - the year when the Turkish authorities subsequently stricter building codes following the devastating 1999 earthquake that killed 17,000.
According to official information, the public prosecutor's office is now investigating more than 130 people who are said to be responsible for the collapse of buildings.
Arrest warrants have already been issued for more than 100 people.
The opposition also sees President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as responsible and accuses him of failing to prepare the country for such an earthquake during his 20-year reign.
The death toll from the severe earthquake in Turkey and Syria has now risen to more than 28,000.
As the Turkish authorities announced, 24,617 fatalities have now been recovered in Turkey.
According to official figures, at least 3,574 people died in northern Syria.