Ankara fire: 3 killed including months-old baby in Turkey apartment block blaze

At least three people including a three-month-old baby were killed in an apartment block blaze in Ankara, Turkey.

The horror inferno broke out on the fourth floor of a 26-story apartment tower at around 10pm on Saturday night. As many as 20 people were rushed to hospital after the shocking blaze while paramedics helped 26 people at the tragic site. Reports suggest 39 people suffered from light smoke inhalation, including seven firefighters. Emergency crews took four hours to put out the terrifying inferno in the Turkish capital. Firefighters also helped to free people trapped inside their flats.

The affected block was located in Ankara's Çankaya district, in the south of the city. Police, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency and the National Medical Rescue Team rushed to the tragic scene along with firefighters last night.

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Emergency crews initially shut off the tower block's electric supply and natural gas lines, as a precaution, before entering. It is believed many people trapped inside the building by the smoke desperately rushed up the tower to keep away from the inferno. Some residents were removed from the building out of windows and onto ladder trucks.

A probe into the cause of the fire has been launched by Turkey's public prosecutor. Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, Mansur Yavaş, said the blaze broke out from an electrical shaft.

The mayor said: "It spread from the electrical shaft to the upper floors, but there's nothing left in the apartments. When the residents noticed it, they warned each other. Most of them escaped, and 26 people were rescued by the fire department. They are also in the hospital."

This blaze has sparked renewed concerns among locals in the Turkish capital over building safety.

It comes after five children tragically died in a terrifying house fire in Turkey’s western İzmir province that burned through the property while their mum was out selling scrap metal. This blaze broke out after an electric heating stove caught fire.

The kids, aged between one and five, were left at home on November 11, 2024, and died from smoke inhalation. Their mum Melisa Akcan left the home for a short time to collect the money for scrap metal she needed to feed her children, according to local media.

Neighbour Esma Sahin, who ran to help during the fire, told local media: "It was a very painful incident. The children had locked the door and their mother had left. They all died on top of each other. Those children were not at fault"

Family friend Soner Sahin claimed she heard the screams of the distraught mum. She revealed. "The fire broke out at around 19:30 last night. I had come home from work, all I heard was the screams of the mother, Melisa Akcan. She was shouting, ‘Auntie Esma, my children are dead.’"