In the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Turkey on Monday, rescuers acknowledge the grim reality: saving more lives is no longer feasible. Turkish justice has moved to action, issuing more than a hundred arrest warrants tied to negligence in the construction of buildings that collapsed in the disaster.
AFAD, Turkey’s emergency management authority, reports a confirmed death toll of 29,605. When combined with more than 3,500 fatalities in Syria, the total loss across both nations surpasses 33,000 lives. The scope of impact remains vast, with the affected region stretching across ten provinces and encompassing a population nearing ten million.
Roughly 150,000 people have been displaced from their homes, while about 233,000 individuals are actively engaged in rescue operations using more than 12,000 vehicles and heavy machinery. The government records indicate over 80,000 injuries attributed to the quake and ongoing rescue missions.
Even after more than six days, rescue teams have managed to pull people alive from the rubble. In the last 24 hours, rescuers saved more than a dozen individuals, including a three-year-old girl and an 85-year-old woman, with search efforts extending up to 155 hours after the initial collapse.
International assistance has arrived from around the world, with approximately 10,000 volunteers and responders joining the effort. Among them are medical teams, firefighters, and military units from Spain and other countries. Global support has been bolstered by a fleet of nearly seventy planes and 167 helicopters. Humanitarian provisioning has included more than 300 mobile kitchens, 33 mobile bread ovens, and 83 sanitation facilities that have been transported to the affected area.
The disaster zone spans more than a thousand localities, covering roughly 100,000 square kilometers, an expanse larger than Portugal and home to millions who were affected by the event.
“Builders” is a word now echoed across towns where the death toll is rising. Turkish security forces have detained a dozen individuals, including builders, architects, and surveyors, in connection with the destruction and severe damage to tens of thousands of structures. These arrests mark an initial phase in a broader investigative push by state authorities. As public concern over housing quality and building standards grows louder, investigators emphasize that corruption and lax controls are not beyond accountability. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has issued more than 100 arrest warrants for those suspected of construction negligence and has established a special unit dedicated to examining the catastrophe.
Vice President Fuat Oktay indicated that authorities have identified numerous suspects and pledged ongoing scrutiny until the legal process is complete, especially for buildings that were heavily damaged and caused fatalities and injuries. The political landscape has seen opposition leaders accuse the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan of not consistently enforcing seismic regulations. While Turkey maintains rules requiring seismic resistance in construction, enforcement has often lagged, even in newer buildings designed to withstand earthquakes more effectively.
Critics point to periods when governance included amnesties that allowed many noncompliant buildings, even those failing seismic standards, to be legalized in exchange for economic penalties. Those developments have fueled calls for stronger, more transparent enforcement of building codes and safer construction practices across the country.