Warrants issued following years of government 鈥渁mnesties鈥� issued to builders who dodge safety regulations
Turkish officials have issued arrest warrants for at least 130 building contractors over alleged breaches of safety codes which they say led to the collapse of thousands of buildings in last week鈥檚 earthquake.
More than 35,000 people are now known to have died in Turkey and neighbouring Syria as a result of last Monday鈥檚 7.8-magnitude tremor, which was followed by a 7.5-magnitude aftershock.
The Turkish government said that about 6,500 buildings had collapsed in the country. Officials have already taken at least 12 people into custody, including building contractors, according to the state-run Anadolu News Agency.
The Turkish Justice Ministry has also ordered officials to appoint prosecutors to bring criminal charges against all the 鈥渃onstructors and those responsible鈥� for the collapse of buildings that failed to meet building safety codes introduced following a similar disaster in 1999 that killed 17,000.