Building where 6 people died in Hatay earthquake was built illegally: Up to 22 years in prison!

The investigation conducted by the Hatay Chief Public Prosecutor's Office Earthquake Investigation Bureau regarding the collapse of the 3-story building on Yeşilevler Street in the Küçükdalyan neighborhood of the central Antakya district during the 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered in Pazarcık on February 6, which resulted in the death of 6 people, has been completed.

The indictment, which seeks up to 22 years and 6 months in prison each for the non-custodial defendants—the owners of the land where the building was constructed, Remzi A. (73) and his brother Selim A. (65), as well as the foreman Süleyman K. (74)—on the charge of "causing the death of more than one person through conscious negligence," has been accepted by the Hatay 4th High Criminal Court.

The indictment stated that the building, which was an illegal structure as it lacked a building permit, used non-ribbed (smooth) reinforcement bars, and the number of stirrups (bent construction steel wrapping load-bearing elements such as columns and beams) was very low.

ADDITIONAL FLOOR LOAD AND EARTHQUAKE IMPACT

The indictment, which stated that it was determined the ground floor and the two floors above it were built at different times, assessed that the structure collapsed due to the additional floor load on the columns and the impact of the earthquake.

BUILDING WAS CONSTRUCTED WITHOUT A PROJECT

The following was noted in the expert report prepared by Karadeniz Technical University, which was included in the indictment:

"Since the building was constructed without a project, no project author or technical implementation supervisor could be found. There are no architectural, static, electrical, or plumbing projects, nor static calculations or soil survey reports for the building. The reinforcement detailing in the building's existing load-bearing system elements is insufficient in terms of reinforcement type, stirrup spacing, and hook angle. The fact that the building was constructed without a project and without receiving engineering services is a major factor in its collapse."

"I ONLY CONTRIBUTED FINANCIALLY"

In his defense included in the indictment, defendant Selim A. explained that he had reached an agreement with foreman Süleyman K. to undertake the construction work of the building, which began in 1993.

Claiming that he gave power of attorney to his older brother Remzi A. to follow the construction process because he was abroad, Selim A. stated, "I only contributed financially to the construction of the building. I sent money in my mother's name, and my brother handled the errands for the workers. When I returned from abroad, the rough construction of the building was finished."

"I HELPED MY BROTHER"

Remzi A., on the other hand, claimed that his brother had the building constructed and that he generally dealt with the construction, stating, "I helped my brother. He sent money when he was not here. I did the jobs he told me to do."

Süleyman K. also argued that he did not remember whether he worked on the building and claimed he did not know Selim A.