Turkish officials detained or issued arrest warrants for some 130 people allegedly involved in shoddy and illegal construction methods as rescuers on Sunday continued to pull a few survivors from the rubble, six days after a pair of earthquakes collapsed thousands of buildings.
The death toll from Monday's quakes that hit southeastern Turkiye and northern Syria stood at 28,191 -- with another 80,000-plus injured -- as of Sunday morning and was certain to rise as bodies continued to be uncovered.
Turkiye's justice minister has vowed to punish anyone responsible, and prosecutors have begun gathering samples of buildings for evidence on materials used in constructions. The quakes were powerful, but victims, experts and people across Turkiye are blaming bad construction for multiplying the devastation.
A day earlier, Turkiye's Justice Ministry announced the planned establishment of "Earthquake Crimes Investigation" bureaus. The bureaus would aim to identify contractors and others responsible for building works, gather evidence, instruct experts including architects, geologists and engineers, and check building permits and occupation permits.
Erdogan acknowledged earlier in the week that the initial response has been hampered by the extensive damage. He said the worst-affected area was 500 kilometres in diameter and was home to 13.5 million people in Turkiye. During a tour of quake-damaged cities Saturday, Erdogan said a disaster of this scope was rare, and again referred to it as the "disaster of the century."
Rescue workers pulled out a man in Antakya, hours after hearing voices from beneath the rubble. Workers said the man, who appeared to be in his late 20s or 30s, was one of nine still trapped in the building. But when asked whether he knew of any other survivors, he said he hadn't heard any voices for three days.
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