21.08.2026 11:00
In Malatya, company officials who detected the use of low-quality concrete in a 105-apartment construction project halted the project and obtained a demolition decision. The site supervisor, holding a sledgehammer, demonstrated that the columns crumbled into dust.
A remarkable incident occurred in the urban transformation efforts launched in Malatya following the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş. During the construction of a 105-apartment building started by the Keleşoğlu company in the Yeşilyurt district, the company's own inspection revealed insufficient concrete quality.
STRIKING RESULTS IN CORE TESTS
According to reports, core samples taken by the building inspection firm and İnönü University Faculty of Engineering after the foundation and column phases were tested. The concrete quality, which was required to meet C37 standards per the project, was documented to have dropped to C19, and even to C13 and C14 levels at some points, based on the analyses.
"WHERE WE HIT WITH THE SLEDGEHAMMER TURNS TO DUST"
Mustafa Erdoğan, who is both a rights holder and the site supervisor for the Keleşoğlu company, stated that as soon as they noticed the situation, they halted the construction and applied to the Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change to obtain a demolition decision for their own project. Erdoğan, who tested the concrete's durability by hitting the load-bearing columns with a sledgehammer, said, "Normally, this should have been C37 quality concrete that even breakers would struggle with for days. But the moment we hit it with a sledgehammer, the main beams and load-bearing columns turned to dust. It's clear that cement and materials were skimped on. Our contracting company deliberately reported its own construction to avoid bearing this burden, and saying 'I can't continue like this,' initiated the demolition process."
CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISOR REACTS TO EXPERT REPORT
Construction supervisor Mustafa Erdoğan, reacting to the expert report stating the concrete quality as C67 while their own core tests showed C13-C19, said that the demolition process of the building, for which Yeşilyurt Municipality had issued a demolition permit, was temporarily halted until the investigation launched by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the laboratory results of additional core samples were concluded.
"AT LEAST 210 LIVES WILL LIVE IN 105 APARTMENTS"
Erdoğan, appealing to authorities in the city where the pain of the earthquake is still fresh, said, "There are 105 apartments here, and at least 210 people will live in them. Human lives cannot be disregarded just because some want to make money. We don't want any more lives lost in this country. We demand that our statesmen and relevant authorities expedite this judicial process and resolve the matter as soon as possible."