Two dead in Istanbul’s Armenian church fire

Two people have died after a fire broke out at Istanbul’s Surp Pirgic Armenian Church on Monday night.

The fire that was started in the lodging section of the church located in historical Beyoglu district, also left two injured, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported.

The flames were extinguished after four-hours of firefighting efforts and investigators started work to establish the cause of the fire, it said.

The Catholic Armenian church was consisted of three buildings; the place of worship, the section with administrative departments and the section used as lodging, and the fire that was broke out in the residential part was spread to the other parts, Cumhuriyet said.

During the fire, three explosions were heard in a row in the building where the lodging were located, it said.

Two bodies, one male and one female who were found during the search conducted in the church after the flames brought under control, have been taken to the morgue of the Forensic Medicine Institute.

Four people were evacuated and two of them which were affected by the smoke have been sent to the hospital as a precaution, Cumhuriyet said, citing Istanbul Governorate’s statement regarding the fire.

The Governor of Istanbul and the patriarch were among those who went to the scene immediately after hearing of the fire.

Archbishop Levon Zekiyan, the spiritual leader of Turkey’s Armenian Catholic community and Beyoglu District Governor Mustafa Demirelli were among those who went to the scene immediately after the fire broke out, Cumhuriyet said.