Turkiye opens first major trial into earthquake deaths

ISTANBUL: Turkiye on Wednesday opened the first major trial linked to the construction of buildings that crumbled in two massive February 2023 earthquakes that claimed more than 50,000 lives.

The hearing in the southeastern city of Adiyaman involves 11 defendants accused of “conscious negligence” while overseeing the construction of the Isias Hotel.

Five of the 11 defendants, including the hotel´s owner, have been arrested and charged with crimes that could see them jailed for more than 20 years each.

The hotel´s collapse killed 24 children from Northern Cyprus who had flown to Turkey to attend a students´ volleyball tournament. They died together with a group of parents and chaperones in what Turkish prosecutors now say was a tragedy that could have been averted had proper safety standards been met.

The buildings collapsed claimed the lives of 72 people in all -- 39 of them from Northern Cyprus. It was the single biggest tragedy in the history of the separatist statelet, whose self-rule is recognised only by Ankara.

The indictment says the building was illegally converted from a residence into a hotel in 2001.

It adds that the hotel had illegally erected an additional floor to the nine permitted by the original plan.