A police officer stands as firefighters investigate after two old buildings were collapsed in Beyoglu district in Istanbul
TWO buildings have collapsed in the Turkish city of Istanbul, but it appears no-one was trapped inside, according to local officials.
The buildings, one of which was five-storey, collapsed in a small side street close to Istanbul’s pedestrian Istiklal Avenue, a main shopping district, reducing much of it to rubble.
Police moved in and sealed off the area.
Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin told reporters: “According to preliminary inspections there isn’t anyone inside.”
Mayor Misbah Demircan said that “people at the car park felt the shaking and they made people vacate the area”, crediting them with preventing a disaster when the building fell.
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