Two people found dead after house collapse due to landslide

The dead bodies of two people who were trapped under the collapse of a two-story detached house due to landslide in the northwestern province of Zonguldak have been reached.

The search for 82-year-old Perihan Çakar and her son 51-year-old Sait Çakar, who were trapped under the cave-in after a landslide caused by heavy rains in Zonguldak on Dec. 9, restarted at dawn.

After the teams determined that the cave-in area was safe, Zonguldak Municipality, gendarmerie and Turkish Coal Corporation rescue teams entered the area under the coordination of the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).

In the area where police teams took extensive security measures, efforts were made to find the mother and son.

"On Dec. 9, a two-story house collapsed due to a landslide in the central district of Zonguldak province and two citizens were trapped under the cave-in. As a result of search and rescue operations, the dead bodies of two of our citizens were reached," AFAD said.

Deputy Interior Minister Münir Karaloğlu said that the mother and her son are still under the cave-in and that all teams started search and rescue activities as soon as the call came in yesterday evening.

Reminding that there was a second landslide around 10 p.m. on Dec. 9, Karaloğlu said, "A serious landslide fell on the friends working with the sliding of the retaining wall above and 21 of our friends were injured."

"There was no loss of life in the second landslide. Twenty-one of our friends were taken under treatment in hospitals; 15 of them were discharged, six of them are currently being treated, we do not have a life-threatening situation," he added.