Turkey earthquake: The warnings at the luxury apartments that turned to dust

Safety concerns astatine an flat analyzable successful the Turkish metropolis of Gaziantep were raised agelong earlier past week's deadly earthquakes. More than 130 radical surviving determination mislaid their lives. A BBC squad has spent 3 days looking astatine what happened - and the aboriginal warnings voiced by residents.

With lone a bonfire for airy and warmth connected a bitter winter's night, an extended household sits astatine the roadside waiting for a miracle.

They've been present for 9 days and nights but their loved ones person not been found.

This idiosyncratic grief is being played retired successful the rubble of 1 of the astir desirable streets wealth tin bargain here.

"This is 1 of the astir luxurious residential areas successful Gaziantep," says instrumentalist Yunus Emre, whose relative and his household of 4 are missing. "The wealthiest unrecorded here. Those flats are sold for millions."

But the terms of the spot meant thing erstwhile the earthquake struck.

"I'm conscionable angry. I privation to bring idiosyncratic to justness but I don't cognize who," says the 28-year-old. For him, truthful galore parties are culpable successful what is not conscionable a nationalist calamity but, with the illness of truthful galore buildings, a nationalist scandal.

"It starts with the contractor," helium explains.

"He uses low-quality gathering material. Next comes the certifying authority. They person the humor of radical who died present connected their hands.

"It's not close to scapegoat the contractor. The ones who approved this gathering are liable unneurotic with the authorities and the state. They shouldn't person signed disconnected connected this gathering task astatine all."

The Ayşe Mehmet Polat flat analyzable is 24 years old. Four of its six blocks collapsed portion different buildings astir it stood tall.

We came to this tract due to the fact that we had heard that a antheral said to beryllium the building's contractor had been arrested. He volition aboriginal archer america done his lawyer helium was doing thing incorrect and should carnivore nary responsibility.

But what precisely happened present connected 6 February, and could it person been prevented?

As we instrumentality to the analyzable the adjacent morning, exigency services uncover to america a shocking fig - 136 radical are known to person died present arsenic they slept.

At a petrol presumption adjacent door, we inquire if they person immoderate CCTV footage of erstwhile the earthquakes struck. We are fixed videos from 4 abstracted cameras which amusement the fearfulness unfolding. First, the convulsive shaking of the lights, past seconds later, radical moving for their lives before, finally, a heavy unreality of fume and particulate enveloping everything successful its path.

The neighbouring flat buildings collapsed successful a substance of seconds.

As we permission the petrol station, we are drawn to the heap of idiosyncratic possessions connected the borderline of the forecourt. It is simply a profoundly upsetting depository of lives abruptly extinguished - homework, dolls, cooking pans and household photos. Scouring the heap, and sobbing inconsolably, is 65-year-old Emel Filik.

"Everything is gone," she tells us.

She explains that her relative had been sleeping successful 1 of the 4 destroyed blocks, and no-one had taken work for keeping the gathering safe.

"Once you commencement to unrecorded successful your flat, thing happens. No inspection. Earthquake security and spot security don't enactment either. The municipality doesn't marque checks. No specified happening arsenic monitoring."

There had been concerns astir these apartments, she says, adding that the caput of the residents' relation - a pistillate known arsenic Selma - had adjacent asked neighbours to travel to a gathering to perceive to her fears.

"Six months ago, Selma told america astir the problems of the building. She said 'Dear residents, our buildings mightiness illness astatine the slightest of earthquakes. Let's fortify the pillars. If you're abbreviated connected money, the municipality could assistance america for a cheaper solution.' She held respective meetings. But thing happened."

We find a telephone fig for Selma and she confirms she held meetings to explicit her fears.

But should residents truly person to wage to beryllium harmless successful their ain homes? This was a question of structural integrity, not repainting walls.

The caput of the organisation representing architects successful Turkey, Eyüp Muhçu, tells america the eventual work for making definite buildings are harmless rests with the Turkish government.

"The precedence of the cardinal authorities was not to marque the cities safe, but to instrumentality immoderate projects that were solely planned for maximising profits. For this reason, 65% of the existent gathering banal successful Turkey is risky. And nary measures person been implemented regarding these risky structures."

With 2 residents having told america determination had been imaginable problems wrong the blocks - we commencement trying to find retired if those liable for the gathering knew astir it and whether they did anything.

When we had archetypal arrived astatine the artifact the erstwhile night, a lad had travel up to america concisely to accidental his dada had pulled 7 radical from the rubble with his bare hands. It sounded a singular story, fixed the standard of the demolition we could see, but we didn't discount it.

And definite enough, erstwhile we perceive others talking astir the bravery of a antheral called Bahattin Aşan we determine to way him down.

"I saw the gathering twirling and crashing down. I came present running, it was dark, raining, determination was snowfall and I was the archetypal responder," helium tells us.

Bahattin Aşan utilized to enactment arsenic a information defender astatine the lodging complex.

He shows america a harrowing video helium took successful the smoking ruins, successful which he's calling retired to those trapped. Some radical reply.

"I rescued 7 radical by myself. It was similar the apocalypse. Even present arsenic I'm telling you this, I'm inactive shaking," helium says.

But what astir these expected concerns implicit the buildings' safety, I ask? Did helium spot this?

"In the car park, I witnessed the defects with my ain eyes. When I touched the factual columns it would crumble to particulate successful my hands, arsenic though it wasn't factual astatine all. Iron was rusting successful the columns, the rainfall was damaging and corroded the iron."

When I inquire Bahattin Aşan if helium ever reported this, helium insists it was evident to the absorption arsenic good arsenic the residents.

"I utilized to archer a person that if they were to springiness maine a level present I wouldn't instrumentality it. I said it was due to the fact that I didn't deliberation the columns were coagulated and successful an earthquake the gathering would collapse."

But the antheral accused of being the contractor, Mehmet Akay, says the gathering complied with regularisation astatine the clip it was built. He claims that sewage and h2o works were added to the spot aft operation - and that this, oregon different work, whitethorn person damaged the supporting columns.

How galore different information guards and caretakers crossed Turkey had voiced akin concerns successful a state precariously positioned astatine the crossroads of shifting tectonic plates?

The contiguous representation that is emerging successful this Gaziantep neighbourhood is not of a cover-up oregon conspiracy - but either indifference oregon inaction.

Everyone knew determination was a problem, but cipher did anything.

For absorption MP Garo Paylan, from the HDP party, who we conscionable arsenic helium visits this site, it is indicative of transgression negligence connected an concern standard successful Turkish operation and oversight.

"This is simply a crime. This is simply a sin."

Mr Paylan accuses the authorities of Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of failing to guarantee the information of caller buildings arsenic good arsenic failing to fortify older ones.

"The scientists were shouting astir it, this catastrophe is coming, but the authorities did astir nothing. We warned the cities, we warned them to hole the rescue teams, but they did thing and we unrecorded this catastrophe. They accidental this is destiny. No, it is not. In civilised countries these kinds of disasters hap but less radical die. But present we person tens of thousands of radical nether the rubble."

Mehmet Akay, the antheral whom authorities accidental was the gathering contractor for the Ayşe Mehmet Polat complex, was arrested connected Saturday 11 February - 5 days aft the earthquakes. He was stopped astatine Istanbul Airport arsenic helium tried to permission the country.

State prosecutors accidental helium was the gathering contractor, but responding to questions enactment to him done his lawyer, Mr Akay claims helium was the operation co-ordinator, but not the contractor. He besides rejects accusations that inexpensive gathering materials were used.

In Gaziantep, we inquire the section authority, Şehitkamil Municipality, for a response. Spokesman Ahmet Aydın Sert says nary complaints were received astir the analyzable buildings, and truthful nary inspections were made. "We went done the records and recovered nary irregularities."

President Erdogan has conceded that the exigency effect to the catastrophe was dilatory successful places, but has urged his radical not to perceive to those whom helium accuses of politicising a tragedy.

His authorities denies negligence and claims that much than 98% of buildings that collapsed were older - similar the Ayşe Mehmet Polat analyzable - and built earlier the ruling enactment took office.

There are plentifulness who would accidental each state has a motivation - if not ineligible - work to support its citizens, nary substance the property of their property.

And erstwhile Turks spell to the polls successful the summertime they volition determine for themselves who tin champion guarantee their families are harmless successful their ain homes.

Additional reporting by Naomi Scherbel-Ball, Doğu Eroğlu, Dilay Yalçin and Jake Horton