Rescuers race to reach trapped six-year-old as Istanbul seven-storey block partially collapses, killing two

From the Newshound archive · first published 8 October 2026 · last updated 9 October 2026.

Three lower floors of a seven-storey residential building in Istanbul's Maltepe district gave way before dawn on Thursday, killing two people and leaving others buried under the rubble. At least ten survivors, among them three children, were brought out alive, with rescue teams deploying sniffer dogs and acoustic detection equipment. Istanbul governor Davut Gul cautioned that the structure remained vulnerable to further collapse, forcing crews to continually adjust their operations.

Rescuers established contact with a six-year-old child trapped in the debris but were unable to reach the child immediately due to the building's instability.

Gul said authorities would look into whether any licensing or permitting irregularities had occurred during the building's construction history.

Turkey is midway through an urban renewal programme aimed at replacing earthquake-risky buildings — but this collapse struck before dawn on a busy residential block.