Destroyed state hospital in Hatay not earthquake resistant, 2012-dated report shows

Duvar English

Iskenderun Public Hospital, which collapsed on Feb. 6 in a 7.7 magnitude earthquake striking Turkey’s southeast, had not been demolished despite a 2012-dated “not earthquake resistant” report.

The report is also available on the hospital’s website, located in Hatay's Iskenderun district, online news outlet Diken reported on Feb. 8.

Under the demands section in a slideshow about the hospital, it says “The ‘Earthquake Resistance Test’ made in Block A of our hospital in 2012 was negative.”

The 6-storey Block A collapsed due to the quake.

Citizens waiting for their relatives to be rescued from under hospital's rubble were angry as they said "necessary measures were not taken."

"There was a decision to demolish this place. What did they wait for?" one citizen asked.

Another citizen criticized the lack of rescue efforts, and said "The rescue teams of AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority) came and left, saying there was no one alive under the rubble. We hear voices, there are people who are still alive under the rubble."

There were health workers under the rubble along with the injured.

There is a growing criticism to the Turkish government for not preparing the country for earthquakes despite being in power for over 20 years.

The initial earthquake at a magnitude of 7.7 struck the southeastern province of Kahramanmaraş's Pazarcık district on Feb. 6 at 4:17 a.m. local time. The second earthquake at a magnitude of 7.6 struck Kahramanmaraş's Elbistan district at 1.24 p.m. local time on the same day.

Some 13.5 million people have been affected in 10 provinces, in an area spanning 1,000 square kilometers.

As of Feb. 9, the death toll from devastating earthquakes has risen to 16,170, at least 64,194 people were injured. 

The number of demolished buildings has been yet recorded as 6,444.