‘It was like judgement day’: 21 survive being buried under rubble after building collapses

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Twenty-one people have reportedly survived after being buried in rubble during a building collapse in Turkey, with no others believed to be missing.

Officials rescued thirteen people who had become trapped inside the two-storey property in the city of Malatya, while eight others escaped on their own, according to NDTV.

Thirteen people were hospitalised due to their injuries, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Two of them were taken to intensive care but none were in critical condition, authorities said.

The incident happened on a busy street as residents filled shops on their way home from work shortly before 5pm.

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There was a chicken restaurant, a dried nuts seller and bakery on the building’s first floor, and a coffee shop on the second floor.

A survivor said he managed to get out of the premises with two friends after a wall collapsed on him.

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Witnesses and media reports said the building crumbled during planned renovation work, which allegedly damaged one of the walls separating two of the restaurants on the ground floor.

“I heard a crack first and then the building collapsed,” witness Turhan Cobanoglu told HaberTurk television. “A cloud of dust emerged. It was like judgement day.”

Meanwhile, the building’s owner and three people who were carrying out the work have been taken into custody, Malatya’s prosecutor’s office said.