The fire broke out at around 1:00 p.m. local time (12:00 p.m. Spanish peninsular time) in the Gayrettepe district of the city center at the Masquerade nightclub, a well-known leisure venue with music concerts and a capacity of up to 3,000 people. People. From there the fire spread to the rest of the building.
As many as 31 fire engines and a team of nearly 90 people were dispatched to the area after receiving report of the incident. Police officers and health workers are also on site. The authorities, for their part, have appointed three prosecutors to investigate and have already issued arrest warrants against five suspects, including three workers, the labor manager and the manager in charge of the reform.
The basement where the fire broke out belonged to a nightclub whose premises were currently undergoing renovations, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül said. At least some of those who died were workers who worked on the project, he said.
Likewise, Gül has denied initial reports in the press of an explosion in the building and confirmed that the license of the nightclub, which opened in 1987, was renewed in 2018. In telephone statements, a Masquerade source confirmed to EFE that those responsible were all outside and unable to enter the damaged site.
The fire spread from the premises to the building, spread to the fifth or sixth floor and caused enormous smoke, said the Turkish broadcaster NTV. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu told the station that a large amount of construction materials were scattered around the site, which could have contributed to the fire.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya published a publication on his social networks expressing regret over the incident and confirming that authorities have launched an investigation to determine the origin of the flames.
With information from 20Minutes