Building collapses in Istanbul, no word on injuries

ISTANBUL, Apr 26 (Reuters) An eight-storey building collapsed in Istanbul today, but there was no immediate word on casualties, officials said.

It was not clear how many people were inside the building in the Sirinevler district on the European side of Istanbul, but a number of ambulances had been dispatched to the scene.

Rescue workers were digging through the rubble of the apartment block, which collapsed in the early evening. Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas said it was not immediately clear why the building had fallen.

Television stations showed pictures of men and women crying around the rubble and sorting through the remains of the building, which were spread out over a city block.

Earlier this year a woman died when a building collapsed on the outskirts of Istanbul, Turkey's largest city. Shoddy construction, lack of building regulation and corruption have been blamed for past building collapses in Turkey.

Reuters RJ GC2127