17 December 2009 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
Two children in Adapazarı, Sakarya, died of smoke inhalation on Tuesday during a fire that started on the second floor of a two-story apartment building, agencies have reported. The mother of one of the children and her brother-in-law were in the apartment but survived with injuries after jumping off a balcony.
The fire started at around 9 p.m. on the upper floor of a two-story apartment building on Derya Street in the Yağcılar neighborhood. The cause of the fire is still being investigated. Nazlı Demir (28) and her brother-in-law, Ahmet Demir (26), jumped off a balcony to escape the fire, but were unable to save the two children in the apartment, Mustafa Can (2) and Volkan Demir (4). The children, who were inside the living room at the time the fire broke out, died of smoke inhalation.Nazlı Demir was seriously injured, while Ahmet Demirh had minor injuries. They were hospitalized at the Sakarya Teaching and Research Hospital. Nazlı Demir was reported to have burns and fractured bones. The fire was extinguished by teams from the Sakarya Municipality Fire Department. The father, who was not at home during the incident, had a nervous breakdown when he found out about the children’s deaths. Police were on hand to keep the situation under control when the victims’ relatives were informed of the incident.
The bodies of the two children were taken to the Sakarya Teaching and Research Hospital morgue, where they will undergo an autopsy. A public prosecutor, crime scene investigators and firefighters investigated the scene. The Sakarya chief of police also arrived at the scene and spoke with investigators. Officials suspect the fire may have been caused by a malfunctioning electric switch.
