169 people lost their lives in the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes: Contractors used non-ribbed iron

169 people lost their lives in the Emlakbank 1st Stage Residences in the Antakya district of Hatay, which collapsed during the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake disaster.

Contractor Mehmet Özat, for whom an arrest warrant had been issued, was apprehended and taken into custody in Ankara in November 2023 following a report by Sinem Boyacı, who lost 9 members of her family in the earthquake.

Özat, who gave his statement via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS) to the public prosecutor in Hatay handling the case, was arrested by the criminal judgeship of peace and sent to prison.

NON-RIBBED IRON USED IN THE RESIDENCES

The Hatay Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which conducted the investigation, has completed the indictment.

In the preliminary expert report included in the indictment prepared against the contractors of the Emlakbank 1st Stage Residences—detained suspect Mehmet Özat and non-detained suspects Erten Elçi, Mehmet İhsan Aydeğer, and Abdullah Aytaç Kınay—it was stated that non-ribbed iron was used in the residences and that this was the main factor causing the building to collapse during the earthquake.

The report also included information that the concrete had lost its properties, especially where the building columns joined with the floor slabs. The indictment, which stated that the ironwork was done carelessly, noted that this caused the columns to break at the points where they joined with the floor slabs.

Furthermore, the report stated that the stirrups and cross-ties in the columns and beams of the structure were placed irregularly and were not constructed in accordance with science and engineering rules.

'3 OR 4 OF THE BUILDINGS I BUILT COLLAPSED IN THE EARTHQUAKE'

In his statement included in the indictment, the detained suspect Özat said, "Although it has been stated in the complainant statements and petitions read to me that I was the contractor for the Emlakbank 1st stage, and they have declared in their petitions that I was the contractor, these statements do not reflect the truth. I have built many buildings to date, and I know that the number of buildings I undertook as a contractor that collapsed due to the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake is 3 or 4. These collapsed buildings are also approximately 40-45 years old. None of the new buildings I have constructed in the last 10 years have collapsed."

22 YEARS AND 6 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT

Suspect Özat claimed that he undertook the contracting for the 2nd stage of the site in question and that no collapse or loss of life occurred in that block either.

In the indictment, prison sentences ranging from 3 years to 22 years and 6 months were requested for the contractors of the Emlakbank 1st Stage Residences, where 169 people lost their lives, for the crime of "causing the death and injury of more than one person through conscious negligence." Additionally, it was decided to issue an arrest warrant for Abdullah Aytaç Kınay. The indictment was accepted by the Hatay 3rd High Criminal Court.

The suspects will appear before the judge at the Hatay 3rd High Criminal Court on November 28.