Mesut Başkır, the construction contractor of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaraş for whom an arrest warrant had been issued, was caught trying to escape Turkey by boat in the southern city of Marmaris. In Adana and Diyarbakır, two cities also affected by last week’s earthquake, 20 further people were arrested in connection with destroyed buildings.
The detentions come after dozens of arrests of construction contractors in Turkey in recent days, which included other instances of contractors detained while attempting to flee the country. In an example from Monday, the contractor from a collapsed residential building in the Hatay province was detained at the Istanbul Airport while allegedly attempting to flee to Azerbaijan.
Accused of ‘causing death or injury by negligence’, Mesut Başkır was detained by local authorities in Marmaris before being sent back to Kahramanmaraş.
The shoddy building construction practices used across Turkey have been identified as a major factor in the deadliness of last week’s quake, the death toll of which has now exceeded 36,000. In Adana, 5 individuals were detained on related charges, while the nearby city of Diyarbakir saw some 15 detentions.
