Fire tragedy in Başakşehir: 12-year-old girl loses her life

In a house fire in Başakşehir, Istanbul, five out of the six people in the home managed to escape. 12-year-old Nazlıcan Pehlivan, who remained trapped, lost her life. It was revealed that the young girl had woken her family up after noticing the fire, but could not leave the place where she had hidden because she was scared.

The fire broke out for unknown reasons in an apartment on the top floor of a 3-story building in Başakşehir. While 5 of the 6 people in the apartment managed to get out on their own, 12-year-old Nazlıcan Pehlivan remained trapped inside. Upon notification, numerous fire, medical, and police teams were dispatched to the area.

BELIEVED TO HAVE STARTED FROM AN ELECTRIC HEATER

Fire crews worked to rescue Pehlivan and extinguish the fire, but they reached the child's lifeless body. The fire, which is believed to have been caused by an electric heater, was extinguished as a result of the teams' efforts. The Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into the incident.

SHE WOKE EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE, BUT COULD NOT GET OUT HERSELF

Nazlıcan Pehlivan's brother-in-law, Nurbay Yüksek, stated that the fire broke out around 05:00 and said, "The 12-13-year-old girl wakes up and wakes her brother. She says, 'Brother, get up, the house is on fire. Go, wake up my mom and dad, I'm going to hide.' At that moment, she hides behind the sofa bed. When they wake up in the panic of the fire and all go outside, they realize one of their children is missing. This time, they want to go back inside. When the fire rises even higher, they try to spray water with a hose, but they cannot enter the flames." Yüksek noted that the fire department reached the child's lifeless body when they entered.

Stating that the family had left the electric heater on before going to sleep and that the children's school clothes had been laid out in front of the heater to dry, Yüksek said they believe the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit at night or by the heater tipping over and something on the floor catching fire.