Scale of natural gas explosion in Niğde revealed at daybreak: Building evacuated as a precaution

An explosion, believed to have been caused by natural gas, occurred at approximately 8:40 PM yesterday on the first floor of a 14-story apartment building located on Kanal Boyu Gök Street in the Selçuk neighborhood of central Niğde. The fire that broke out following the explosion was brought under control and extinguished in a short time by teams dispatched to the scene.

16 people were injured in the explosion. While 3 of the injured were transferred to the Burn Unit of Kayseri City Hospital for treatment, it was learned that none of the injured are in life-threatening condition.

HEAVY DAMAGE TO THE APARTMENT AND SURROUNDINGS

While the violent explosion caused serious damage to the apartment building, some surrounding buildings and parked vehicles were also damaged. Due to the impact of the explosion, the windows of many surrounding buildings were shattered, and the window frames of some homes were dislodged.

It was stated that the windows of the Ahmet Yesevi Mosque, located behind the building where the explosion occurred, were also shattered. The damaged mosque was temporarily closed to worship as a precaution.

“WE THOUGHT A MISSILE HAD HIT AT FIRST”

Adnan Çalışkan, who explained that he was at home at the time of the explosion, described the moments of panic as follows:

“I was at home when the explosion happened. It was around 8:40. There was a violent explosion. At first, we didn't understand what was happening; because of the war environment, we initially thought a missile had hit. My children were very scared, my daughter was on the verge of fainting. We went outside in a panic. The building was on fire, we left urgently and went to help put out the fire. It was like a war zone. If we had been in the kitchen, the exploding glass would have hit us. We had a narrow escape.”

Mustafa Erdem, one of the residents of the apartment, stated that he was not in the building during the explosion and said:

“My mother lives on the 1st floor and I live on the 4th floor; I was not in the building at the time of the incident. We heard the sound of the explosion. While we were investigating what happened, our neighbors told us to come urgently. The window frames had come down. Thank God there was no loss of life, but we have material damage.”

BUILDING EVACUATED AS A PRECAUTION

While the apartment building where the explosion occurred was evacuated as a precaution for safety reasons, police teams continue to maintain security measures in the area.

It was reported that temporary housing has been provided for the citizens living in the building, and damage assessment and inspection work in the area is continuing by the relevant institutions.

News Source: İHA