A witness described the tragedy in which five siblings lost their lives: "We went to the sound of the mother; they were all lying on top of each other."

In the electrical heater tragedy in which 5 siblings lost their lives in İzmir, a neighbor named Yusuf Şahin, who witnessed the incident, said, "In the evening, their mother went outside to collect scrap. Supposedly, she said, 'I am going to buy them bread.' The heater tipped over, but no one knows how it tipped over. While we were at home, she screamed, 'My children, help!' We went to her voice. We went and looked; she had gotten the children outside. We saw that all 5 were lying on top of each other."

THE SIBLINGS WERE TRAPPED IN THE FIRE

The incident occurred around 7:00 PM in a single-story house located in the Cumhuriyet neighborhood of Tavşantepe. According to allegations, Melisa Akcan, the mother who supports her family by collecting scrap while her husband Hakan Akcan is in prison for a crime, left her 5 children at home and went out to collect scrap. During this time, a fire broke out due to the heater tipping over in the house. As the flames quickly engulfed the entire building, the siblings named Aras Bulut (1), Masal Işık (2), Aslan Miraç (3), Funda Peri Akcan (4), and Fadime Nefes (5) were trapped inside.

5 SIBLINGS LOST THEIR LIVES

Citizens in the vicinity who saw the fire reported the situation to the 112 Emergency Call Center. Upon the notification, fire, gendarmerie, and medical teams were dispatched to the address. The fire crews that arrived at the scene extinguished the fire and brought it under control. Then, the firefighters who entered the house encountered 5 children, some of whom were partially burned. In the examination conducted by the medical team, it was determined that 3 of the children had lost their lives, while 2 children were severely injured. The 2 children taken to the hospital could not be saved despite the doctors' interventions.

"THEY WERE ALL LYING ON TOP OF EACH OTHER"

Yusuf Şahin (57), a neighbor who saw the fire, recounted the moment of the incident. Şahin said, "In the evening, their mother went outside to collect scrap. Supposedly, she said, 'I am going to buy them bread.' The electric heater was on inside. The heater tipped over, but no one knows how it tipped over. It was dark, and there was no light inside. While we were at home, she screamed, 'My children, help!' We went to her voice. We went and looked; she had gotten the children outside. We saw that all 5 were lying on top of each other. It was obvious they were lifeless. We called the ambulance, and the teams and firefighters came. After that, they intervened and took them to the hospital." he said.

THE MAYOR MADE A STATEMENT

Filiz Ceritoğlu Sengel, the Mayor of Efes Selçuk, made a statement on her social media account. Sengel used the following expressions in her statement: "We would like to point out that we are facing an event that has deeply hurt us all this evening. We have sadly learned that 5 of our children lost their lives in a tragic incident in a house located within the borders of Cumhuriyet neighborhood. The process that deeply saddens us is being monitored by Efes Selçuk Municipality, and our district governor and prosecutor are continuing their investigations regarding the incident."