11.11.2026 14:41
In Zonguldak, after a crack widened in the retaining wall at the lower part of the three-storey building that collapsed on October 21 and killed one person, the 54-apartment Gümüşevler Site in the upper section was evacuated as a precaution. Residents removed from their homes want the necessary measures to be taken for the retaining wall as soon as possible. The Zonguldak Governor's Office had announced that the wall would be demolished in a controlled manner.
After the building collapse in Meşrutiyet Neighborhood, the risk of sliding in the area worries local residents. Evacuated complex residents demand that the landslide be stopped before winter arrives.
THE CRACK GREW WITH SOIL PRESSURE
The crack in the retaining wall located in the lower part of the 3-storey building that collapsed on October 21 on Sütliyen Street in Meşrutiyet Neighborhood of the central district grew with the pressure of the soil. As a result, with sliding and shearing progressing in the risky area above, the residents of the Gümüşevler Complex, consisting of two blocks and 54 flats, were evacuated on November 7 as a precaution. The evacuated building residents were placed in various guesthouses in the city and with their relatives.
THE AREA WAS CORDONED OFF
Zonguldak Municipality teams took security measures by stretching tape around the area where the building is located. Building residents were not allowed to approach the area.
“WE CANNOT SEE AHEAD, WINTER IS AHEAD”
Building resident Hüseyin Sarıkaya said that he had owned a flat in the evacuated complex for 30 years and that they had not experienced anything like this until then. Arguing that the problems emerged when construction started in the lower part of their building, Sarıkaya said, “If the retaining wall there is to be demolished, we want it to be demolished as soon as possible and a new one built, because only then can we stop this landslide. Otherwise, it will drag all the way up. We cannot see ahead; winter is ahead. We don’t know what will happen either. If necessary, we will take our belongings and rent a place rather than stay here in fear.”
“OUR BUILDING IS SOUND”
Building resident Sedat Yılmaz also stated that they were told first of all that safety of life was important and expressed that the teams helped them. Saying that their building was sound, Yılmaz noted that they were evacuated because the buildings in the lower part had been demolished.
RETAINING WALL TO BE DEMOLISHED IN A CONTROLLED MANNER
In a statement made by the Zonguldak Governorship on November 7, it was announced that the retaining wall posing a danger would be demolished in a controlled manner by Zonguldak Municipality after taking the necessary security measures.
THE BUILDING COLLAPSED ON OCTOBER 21
A 3-storey building collapsed on Sütliyen Street in Meşrutiyet Neighborhood on October 21, and upon notification, AFAD, fire brigade, police, health and UMKE teams were dispatched to the scene. The teams rescued Kenan Akçaharman (68) from the rubble and reached the lifeless body of his sister Türkan Akçaharman Özhan (74). It was learned that Özhan had come from out of town to care for her siblings, and that the other sibling living in the house, Kemal Akçaharman (72), was not at home at the time of the collapse.
7 BUILDINGS WERE EVACUATED, 3 PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED
Seven buildings around the collapsed building were evacuated as a precaution, and the 30 evacuated people were placed in various guesthouses in the city and with their relatives. Of the 5 suspects detained in connection with the building collapse, 3 were arrested. On the same street, on October 17, part of an abandoned building had also collapsed due to the effects of rainfall.