A gas explosion at a Turkish school killed at least 18 school girls Friday. Turkey’s Anatolia News Agency has reported that police have detained three people in connection with the event. At least 27 people were injured.
The report said the police had arrested and questioned the school’s chairman and two administrators. The collapse of the three story building appears related to poor construction practices.
About fifty students and teachers were in the school, where some had gathered for Islamic study in the village of Balcilar, near Taskent in the Konya province .
Merve Avci, a 13-year-old, slightly injured student spoke to the Anatolian news agency: “I was in the part of the building which didn’t collapse with five of my friends immediately after the explosion, and we felt flames rising from the downstairs to upper floors.”
Anatolian says that Avci was in the process of washing before pre-dawn prayers, when a noise in the building’s kitchen led Avci and some teacher to investigate. She says she saw a loose gas pipe before being ordered back to her room. She says she smelled gas coming from somewhere above her room before the explosion.
“We think the collapse was caused by a gas canister explosion in the building, given the burns on the injured,” Konya province health service official Galip Sef told Reuters.
Mayor Demirgul said a leak in a pipe carrying liquefied petroleum gas is the probable cause of the pre-dawn blast.
“We are hearing voices. I believe those inside the rubble will be saved,” Demirgul told reporters.
The Associated Press reported that a small portion of all three stories of the building were left standing. This is confirmed by images displayed on the Reuters website.
The building is owned by a religion foundation and is under investigation when Turkish authorities found an non-approved annex to the structure, according to AFP.
The explosion is unrelated to the bomb blast in northern Turkey on July 28.
