Erdogan Demands Halt to Illegal Building as Toll Climbs
Rescue workers search the rubble of the building in Istanbul.
Photographer: Yasin Akgul/AFP via FGetty Images
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded a halt to the illegal construction that’s rampant in Turkey as the death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Istanbul rose to 21.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu updated the casualty figure as rescuers continued to comb the rubble from the seven-story building that crumbled on Feb. 6 for any signs of life. Forty-three people were registered as living at the building, whose top three floors were constructed without permits, state-run Anadolu news agency cited Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya as saying on Wednesday.