Students injured in elevator accident at high school in western Turkey

Seven students were injured when an elevator at a high school building fell to the ground from the third floor due to an unknown technical failure in the western province of Sakarya on Nov. 18.

The accident happened at a newly-built building of a religious vocational high school in the Geyve district of Sakarya, which opened earlier this year.

Firefighting teams rushed to the school and recovered the students from the elevator.

The injured students - who were identified as Enes Gül, Miraç Demir, Osman Kısa, Tarık Can, Oğuzhan Karaman, Hüseyin Özçelik and Yavuz Eken - were taken to nearby hospitals.

Five students has broken bones while two students were rushed to the Sakarya Public Hospital amid concerns that they had internal bleeding.

The school was closed for the day and the other students were sent home.

An investigation has been opened into the accident upon an order by Education Minister Nabi Avcı.

The accident took place after the elevator’s cable snapped, according to initial reports.

The government recently vowed to increase elevator security inspections and maintenance across Turkey after a number of recent fatal accidents.

Ten workers were killed at a giant tower construction site in central Istanbul in September after an elevator fell and hit the ground.