Earthquake in Turkey: 113 arrest warrants connected to building construction

Turkish officials say 113 arrest warrants have been issued in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in Monday’s earthquake.

Turkish police have taken at least 12 people into custody, including construction contractors.

Meanwhile, unrest in southern Turkey has hampered rescue efforts in some areas.

The number of people confirmed dead in Turkey and Syria has risen to more than 33,000.

More arrests are expected – but the move is seen by many as an attempt to shift overall blame for the disaster.

For years, experts have warned that many new buildings in Turkey are unsafe due to endemic corruption and government policies.

Those policies allow the so-called amnesty for contractors who avoid construction regulations, to encourage a construction boom – including in earthquake-prone regions.

Thousands of buildings collapsed during the earthquake, raising questions about whether the impact of the natural disaster was exacerbated by human failures.

Mr Erdogan admitted the shortcomings of the response, but, on a visit to a disaster zone, he appeared to blame fate. “Such things happen all the time,” he said. “It’s part of fate’s plan.”

On the sixth day after the earthquake, the situation was even more desperate.

On Saturday, German rescuers and the Austrian army stopped the search because of clashes between unnamed groups in Hatay province. Security is expected to worsen as food supplies dwindle, one rescuer said.

“There is increasing aggression between factions in Turkey,” said Austrian Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Kugelweis. “The chances of saving a life bear no reasonable relation to the risk of safety.”

The search for survivors continues under the protection of the Turkish army.

Across southern Turkey and northern Syria, millions are homeless and temperatures continue to drop below freezing every night.

The UN has warned that more than 800,000 people do not have enough food, and its aid agency on the ground has warned that the final death toll from the earthquake is likely to double.

In Syria, the death toll now stands at more than 3,500 – but new figures have not been published since Friday. On Sunday, the death toll in Turkey rose to over 29,000.

Hopes of finding more survivors were lost, despite some rare rescues.

Among those who survived the collapse on Saturday were five families in the province of Gaziantep in Turkey, and a seven-year-old girl in Hatay, who spent 132 hours under the rubble.

The earthquake was described as “the worst event in 100 years in this region” by the United Nations aid chief, who was in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras on Saturday.

“I think it’s the worst natural disaster I’ve ever seen and it’s also the most extraordinary international response,” Martin Griffiths told the BBC’s Lyse Doucet in Turkey.

Mr Griffiths has called for regional politics to be set aside in the face of disaster – and there are few signs this is happening.

The border crossing between Turkey and Armenia reopened on Saturday for the first time in 35 years to allow aid.