Blast rocks military building
2006-12-11 13:14
Ankara, Turkey - A boiler explosion on Monday knocked down part of a five-storey building that houses military families in the largest city in southeast Turkey, the governor's office said.
NTV, a private television station, said seven people were believed to be trapped under the rubble.
NTV said rescuers pulled eight injured people from the wreckage of the building.
Sirens blaring, ambulances rushed to the scene as dozens of soldiers clawed through the wreckage in the search for survivors. Rescue teams in bright orange uniforms also used sniffer dogs.
At least two children were among the injured, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported. At least five apartments were affected by the explosion.
The heating boiler exploded at around 06:30 GMT, the governor's office said, in the basement of the building, inside a heavily guarded military compound in downtown Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast.
Military trucks ferried excavators to the site, while commandos and anti-terrorism police in armoured vehicles guarded the perimeter of the housing compound.
Troops also brought in generators, anticipating a possible search under floodlights after nightfall.
Turkish troops have battled separatist Kurdish rebels in the region for decades.
The guerrillas have lately used remote-controlled bombs to attack Turkish military and police, but the clashes were largely isolated to mountainous areas.
The guerrillas belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, declared a unilateral truce on October 1, Turkey vowed to fight until all rebels are killed or surrender.
More than 37 000 people have died as a result of the fighting since 1984, when the rebels first took up arms against the state.
- AP