AFP
Emergency services outside a nightclub in Istanbul where a deadly fire broke out on April 2, 2024.
CNN
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At least 29 people were killed in a fire that broke out during daytime repair work at a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, state media reported on Tuesday.
According to the Istanbul governor's office, eight more people were injured, seven of them in critical condition.
The governor's office said the fire broke out in the Besiktas district on the European side of central Istanbul, and all the victims were construction workers.
The fire broke out just before 1pm local time (6am ET) in a 16-storey block on Gonenoglu Street, a busy street in Istanbul's Geiretepe district, state media said. According to a CNN producer who was at the scene, the nightclub was called the “Masquerade Club.”
According to Turkish state news agency Anadolu Agency, the fire broke out during renovation work at the underground site.
Murad Cesar/Reuters
A police officer stands next to a burnt-out building in Istanbul.
Turkish authorities have detained eight people in connection with the fire, including the nightclub's manager, an accountant, a partner and the head of the metal workers involved in the renovation work, TRT News reported.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunku said authorities were collecting evidence from the scene.
“A team of three experts specializing in occupational safety and fire is also continuing work to determine the cause of the fire,” he wrote to X.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu expressed his condolences on social media.
“May God have mercy on those who lost their lives,” he wrote to X.
Imamoğlu of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was re-elected as mayor in local elections held on Sunday, marking the biggest electoral defeat to date for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Justice and Development (AK) party. .
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Umut Cebdi Tangor in Istanbul contributed to this report.