Ground survey report missing for 600 Evler Site, which became a grave for hundreds in the earthquake

A lawsuit has been filed against 7 defendants, one of whom is a fugitive, for the crime of "causing the death of more than one person by conscious negligence" in relation to the collapse of 43 blocks of the 600 Evler Site in Hatay, where hundreds of people lost their lives in the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes.

The investigation conducted by the Hatay Chief Public Prosecutor's Office Earthquake Investigation Bureau regarding the collapse of 43 out of 57 five-story blocks of the 600 Evler Housing Construction Cooperative, known as the "600 Evler Site" in the Güzelburç neighborhood of Antakya district, during the February 6, 2023, earthquake has been completed.

In the indictment, which states that hundreds of people lost their lives as a result of the collapse of 43 blocks at the site, it is alleged that the non-detained defendants G.D, H.S, K.M, M.Y, M.C, and Ş.S had unauthorized and unpermitted attic floors built in blocks 1, 8, 41, and 53, where they resided. They face up to 22 years and 6 months in prison each for the crime of "causing the death of more than one person by conscious negligence."

4-FOLD PRISON SENTENCE REQUESTED FOR THE SAME CRIME

The indictment, which requests a 4-fold prison sentence for the same crime for the fugitive Ö.R, who is stated in the expert report to have served as the construction manager, technical supervisor, architectural project author, and technical implementation supervisor in the collapsed blocks, has been accepted by the Hatay 3rd High Criminal Court.

The indictment states that a decision of non-prosecution was issued for Y.S.K, whose name appeared in the license documents as the construction manager and technical supervisor, as well as for Z.E. and S.G, who were stated to have worked as contractors in party statements, due to their deaths, and that a decision of no grounds for prosecution was issued for 36 other suspects.

EXPERT COMMITTEE CONDUCTED AN EXAMINATION

The indictment notes that construction began on 30 of the collapsed blocks in 1989, 9 in 1990, 3 in 1992, and one in 1997.

The indictment, in which 138 people, most of whom were rescued from the rubble with injuries, are listed as complainants, states that an examination was conducted at the site by an expert committee consisting of construction and geological engineers and an architect under the supervision of the public prosecutor.

The indictment reports that the examination found no stirrup confinement in the column-beam joints of the collapsed blocks as required by regulations, that hooks were not made, that crushed stone, stone dust, and cement were seen in the concrete, that the ground floors collapsed due to heavy beams and weak columns, and that non-ribbed reinforcement was used in the columns and shear walls revealed by excavation.

The expert report prepared by Karadeniz Technical University, which was included in the indictment, also noted that there were no ground survey reports for the collapsed blocks and that the reinforcement detailing was insufficient.

The report stated that unauthorized and unpermitted attic floors were built in the collapsed blocks 1, 8, 41, and 53.

"I DO NOT THINK THE ATTIC I HAD BUILT HAD ANY EFFECT ON THE COLLAPSE OF THE BUILDING"

Non-detained defendant G.D, one of the apartment residents whose statements were included in the indictment, claimed he was innocent and made the following statement:

"My son was residing in the attic. No deaths occurred in the attic apartment that I or my neighbor H.S had built during the earthquake. We received a document from the municipality for the apartment at that time, but we realized after the earthquake that it had not been registered."

K.M. claimed that they had the additional apartment built with their neighbor across the hall because water was leaking into their apartment from the collapsed wooden roof.

M.Y. also claimed that they collected signatures from the flat owners in 2022 to have the leaking roof built as a common area, and when no one paid, they had it built and used it themselves, stating the following:

"I did not receive official permission to build the attic. I applied to the Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change for an occupancy permit, but they told me I had missed the deadline. I do not think the attic I had built had any effect on the collapse of the building."

Ş.S. also argued that the attic apartment he had built had no effect on the collapse of the building.

The trial of the defendants will begin in the coming days.

News Source: AA