site.btaOne Man Dies, Another Injured at Historical Building Collapse in Istanbul

One man died and another was injured at the collapse of a historic building in Istanbul on Saturday, the Istanbul Vali's office said, as quoted by the state TRT-Haber TV.

The three-storey building in central Besiktas district of Istanbul collapsed while it was undergoing restoration. The accident occurred at 3:30 pm. Two people were trapped in the collapse. People in the neighbourhood managed to pull one out from under the rubble, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Police teams, firefighters, medics and teams of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) were sent to the region in an operation to save the man remaining under the rubble. A specially trained dog was also part of the operation.

He was discovered still alive and taken to the hospital in extremely grave condition. The man did not survive and died, in spite of the medics' efforts.

The deceased is a 22-year-old student of architecture spending his internship during the restoration of the building, CNN-Turk reported.

The reason for the collapse of the building is not known yet and an investigation of the case is under way.