Several contractors detained, arrest warrants issued

Authorities in Turkey have begun arresting contractors in connection with buildings that collapsed during last week's deadly earthquakes. The Malatya Prosecutor General's Office decided Monday to arrest 31 people as part of an investigation into buildings that collapsed during last week's deadly earthquakes.

On Monday, Nazmi Tosun, the construction manager and technical representative of a building that was collapsed in Gaziantep, was arrested in Istanbul.

Police also arrested Hasan Alpargun in northern Cyprus after several buildings constructed by his construction company collapsed in the southern province of Adana.

Contractor Ibrahim Mustafa Uncuoglu was arrested in Istanbul after a technical inspection of the rubble of a residential building in Gaziantep province revealed negligence and the use of low-quality materials.

Sukru Isitmen, who was responsible for the collapse of six buildings in the Besni district of Adiyaman province, which has so far killed 123 people, was arrested in Mersin.

Istanbul police arrested another contractor, Mehmet Ertan Akay, after his building collapsed during the Gaziantep quake. The prosecutor's office issued an arrest warrant for Akay on charges of involuntary manslaughter and violations of building regulations.

Mehmet Yasar Coskun, the contractor of a large residential building in hard-hit Hatay province, was also arrested on Saturday.

Earlier, security forces arrested Coskun at Istanbul Airport on his way to Montenegro in an attempt to flee Turkey. Coşkun claimed that he did not know why the building was demolished and that his flight to Montenegro had nothing to do with the collapsed building.