Shanty collapses on family of five, including a baby

A family of five, including a newly-born baby, sustained injuries, when a two-storey, makeshift building collapsed in the southern province of Mersin late Thursday.

Local residents searched for survivors and rescued all casualties from under the rubble. 

A witness saw a huge cloud of dust and smoke filled the street after running outside in a hurry. “People were groaning in pain under the rubble when I walked to the direction the sound was coming,” he said.

Police investigating the incident have identified the injured as members of the same family. People living in nearby properties were asked to stay away from the rubble as a precaution.

Acting on a tip-off, emergency service and fire crew ran to the scene to search for anyone else who might have been trapped in the rubble.

The injured were taken to the Mersin Hospital of Medical Science Faculty by ambulances after first aid was administered on the scene.  The medics said one of the injured has remained in critical condition  while the remaining four have sustained light injuries.

Rescuers are still digging through the rubble in hopes of rescuing victims who are said to be members of a Syrian family. 

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called Mersin governor Özdemir Çakacak to ask about casualties and how critical the injured were.

Çakacak, who visited the injured at the hospital, said the casualties do not have life-threatening injuries. “A 23-day-old baby is among the injured. He is in the newly-born intensive case unit. His mother went to surgery when she was taken to the hospital,” he said, speaking to reporters.