16 female students die in Turkey dorm collapse
A three-story dormitory housing female students collapsed in central Turkey yesterday, killing 16 students, injuring at least 27 and setting off a search for a half dozen students believed to be under the rubble, authorities said.
Frantic rescue workers removed debris with shovels, pickaxes and their bare hands in search of any survivors.
"We are hearing voices. I believe those inside the rubble will be saved," Balcilar Mayor Melmut Demirgul told Turkey's NTV television. He estimated six more students were trapped in his village in central Konya province.
He intially told reporters a large gas canister explosion is believed to have caused the collapse. However, the state-run Anatolia news agency and other reports later said the explosion was most likely caused by a leak from a gas installation there.
Besides the fatalities, at least 27 students were brought out of the debris with injuries, said Hasan Kucukkendirci, who heads the local health authority. Galip Sef, an official with the local emergency services, said three of the students sustained severe burns.
Provincial Gov. Osman Aydin said an estimated 40 to 45 girls were staying at the dormitory. The students, between ages eight and 16, were attending Quran courses during the school summer break.
Anatolia news agency quoted one student, Merve Avci, as saying she had got up to wash before pre-dawn prayers when she and some teachers heard a strange sound and went to the kitchen to investigate.
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