At least 29 people lost their lives when a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, caught fire on Tuesday.
The afternoon repairs were interrupted by the explosion, which rocked the busy metropolis.
State media said that the fire originated in the Besiktas neighborhood, which is located on Istanbul’s European side. The victims were all construction workers who were working on renovations within the underground building when they were caught in the fire.
In the center of Istanbul’s Gayrettepe neighborhood, on Gundogdu Street, the incident unfolded just before 1 p.m. local time. The normally lively roadway was suddenly shrouded in tragedy as emergency personnel raced to the scene.
According to Turkish national news agency Anadolu, the fire started during rehabilitation work being done on the 16-story building. The severity of the situation became evident as the flames spread quickly; eight people were injured, seven of them are reportedly in critical condition.
Following the disaster, Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc revealed that five people, including those in charge of running the nightclub and supervising the renovations, had arrest warrants issued for them.
