Police in quake-hit Turkey issue 131 arrest warrants for contractors after many buildings collapsed

Police in earthquake-hit Turkey have issued 131 arrest warrants for contractors after thousands of buildings collapsed, amid claims they flouted regulations to encourage a construction boom.

Turkish police have already detained at least 12 people, and riots have disrupted rescue efforts in some places.

The death toll has exceeded 28,000 since Monday’s earthquake, but it is feared that this number will reach 50,000.

In the meantime, more arrests are expected, but many will see the action as an attempt to deflect general blame for the tragedy.

Experts have warned for years that many new buildings in Turkey were unsafe due to endemic corruption and government policies.

According to the BBCthose policies allowed so-called amnesties for contractors who deviated from building regulations, in order to encourage a building boom, even in earthquake-prone regions.

Thousands of buildings collapsed during the quake, raising questions about whether the impact of the natural disaster was made worse by human error.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has admitted shortcomings in the response, but during a visit to a disaster zone he apparently blamed fate.

‘Those things have always happened. It’s part of fate’s plan,’ he said.

Now, six days after the quake, the situation is growing more desperate, with tens of thousands of rescue workers touring devastated neighborhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions of people.

Thousands remain trapped yesterday after German rescuers and the Austrian army halted search operations due to clashes between unidentified factions. It is expected to become more violent as food supplies dwindle in the coming days.

“There is increasing factional aggression in Turkey,” Austrian Lt. Col. Pierre Kugelweis said. ‘The chances of saving a life have no reasonable relationship to the safety risk.’

The search for survivors has now resumed under the protection of the Turkish army.

Across southern Turkey and northern Syria, millions are homeless and temperatures continue to drop below freezing every night.

The UN has warned that more than 800,000 people do not have adequate meals, while its relief agency on the ground warned that the final death toll from the quake is likely to double.

In Syria, the death toll has already passed 3,500, but no new figures have been released since Friday.