A new development in the 'Tutar Apartment' case, where 63 people died: A construction engineer has been arrested.

On February 6, 2023, following the earthquake in Adana, Cüneyt Akkaya, the technical application manager and construction engineer of the Tutar Apartment Block C, was arrested after the building collapsed, resulting in the loss of 63 lives. In the case regarding the collapse of the Ekim Apartment during the first earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş, Akkaya, who is being tried in detention, had an objection raised by the plaintiffs' lawyers for his trial without detention in the Tutar Apartment case, which is being heard by the Adana 7th High Criminal Court. The Adana 8th High Criminal Court, which evaluated the objection, took the defendant's defense again via the Audio and Visual Information System from the prison.

"IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE FOR THE BUILDING TO SURVIVE SUCH A SEVERE EARTHQUAKE"

Akkaya stated that the building was constructed according to the 1975 earthquake regulation requirements, saying, "It is not possible for the building to survive such a severe earthquake. Therefore, the building should have been reinforced according to the new earthquake regulations. I have no responsibility regarding the reinforcement." The public prosecutor also expressed an opinion for the defendant to be tried in detention. The court panel decided to arrest the defendant for the crime of "causing death and injury by negligence" due to being indicated as primarily at fault in the expert reports regarding the collapse of the Tutar Apartment Block C and the absence of a residential address within the country.

WHAT HAPPENED?

In Adana, in the case seen by the 1st High Criminal Court regarding the Ekim Apartment, which collapsed during the first earthquake on February 6, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 42 people, a case was also opened against Cüneyt Akkaya for "causing the death and injury of multiple people with conscious negligence" related to the collapse of the Tutar Apartment Block C and the loss of 63 lives.