The residents of the apartment that became a grave for 19 people in the earthquake had foreseen their fate 20 years ago: "Save us from this oven."

It has emerged that the residents of the Fazilet Apartment, which became a grave for 19 people in the earthquakes of February 6 in Kahramanmaraş, submitted a petition to the municipality 20 years before the disaster due to the bakery located beneath the building.

FAZİLET APARTMENT BECAME A GRAVE FOR 19 PEOPLE IN THE EARTHQUAKE

The A Block of the Fazilet Apartment in the Mimar Sinan Neighborhood of Kahramanmaraş collapsed in the first earthquake that occurred on February 6. While 19 people trapped under the rubble lost their lives, 20 others were injured. In the investigation initiated regarding the building's collapse, it was revealed that the residents of the apartment had applied to the Kahramanmaraş Municipality because the bakery on the ground floor had made inappropriate renovations. It was also found that the Kahramanmaraş 1st Civil Court of Peace determined on April 16, 2019, that the renovations weakened the building and decided that the renovations should be carried out with a strengthening project.

As a result of the investigation, a case was opened at the Kahramanmaraş 4th High Criminal Court against Mahmut Oktay Hartavi (63), who is both the contractor and the static project author and responsible engineer of the building, as well as the fugitive bakery operators Akın Yağcı (78) and his wife Ferihan Yağcı (70), who have arrest warrants against them, for the crime of 'causing death and injury by conscious negligence' with a request for up to 22 years and 6 months in prison.

"BUILDINGS WITH BAKERIES UNDERNEATH HAVE AN 80% COLLAPSE RATE"

While the trial of the defendants continues, the court panel sent the file to an expert after new documents were submitted. Among the newly submitted documents, the most striking one was a sample of the petition submitted by the apartment management to the Kahramanmaraş Municipality regarding the bakery in 2003. The petition states that the residents of the apartment held a meeting on February 6, 2003, and requested assistance from the municipality based on the decisions made at the meeting. The residents of the apartment demanded that necessary actions be taken regarding the bakery for their safety and property security, stating in the continuation of the petition: "The Akın Bakery is storing 4 truckloads of flour in its warehouses, which adds an extra load of 140 tons to the building, with 35 tons each, apart from the machines inside, posing a danger to the foundation beams and columns. The vibrating machines in the factory, such as the sieve machine, dough kneading machine, elevators, and similar machines, are also causing cracks in the building. The high heat from the bakery is known to damage the columns and beams that bear such a load. In statistical data from earthquake regions, it has been determined that the collapse rate of buildings with bakeries and bakeries underneath is 80%."

"THEY SAID IN THE PETITION 'WE WILL DIE, SAVE US FROM THIS BAKERY'"

Musa Erdem Bayazıt, one of the lawyers of the case, stated that the petition has just been added to the file and that this petition is almost proof that the 19 people in the apartment died knowingly. Bayazıt said: "This is a building where no action was taken despite court decisions and municipal sealings, and people died knowingly. A document was added to the court files yesterday. This document was sent by the Kahramanmaraş Municipality upon the request of the court. The document evokes quite interesting feelings. In 2003, the residents of the apartment, that is, the deceased, gathered and made a decision. According to this decision, an application was made to the municipality, and in this application, the residents almost stated that they would die and asked to be saved from this bakery. The deceased stated, '80% of the buildings with bakeries underneath in earthquake regions have collapsed. We have no safety here. Do what is necessary.' What a painful lament, isn't it? The date of this apartment meeting is also quite interesting. This meeting was held on February 6, 2003, exactly 20 years before the earthquake."

"OUR LIVES PREDICTED WHAT WOULD HAPPEN 20 YEARS AGO"

Gülay Sevim Kahveci, who lost her mother and two siblings in the earthquake, stated that the Fazilet Apartment has been seeking justice for 20 years, not just for 2 years, and said: "Our neighbors living in the Fazilet Apartment, which collapsed in the Kahramanmaraş earthquake on February 6, applied to the municipality of the time with a petition explaining the problems they experienced with the Akın Bakery located beneath the building exactly 20 years ago, and unfortunately again on February 6, 2003. In this petition, they stated that the architectural project of the building was suitable for residential construction, that it was built accordingly, that the beams and columns were not arranged for a factory, that 4 truckloads of flour were stored in the Akın Bakery warehouse, which added an extra load of 140 tons to the building, and that this weight caused excessive loading on the beams and columns. They also mentioned that the vibrations from the bakery's machines caused cracks in the building and that having a bakery underneath posed a significant danger to the building, which they indicated in the petition they wrote 20 years ago in 2003. However, the municipality of that time did not take any action regarding this petition. Our lives predicted what would happen 20 years ago, and they made an official application. Unfortunately, it was ignored, and we lost 19 lives. The Fazilet Apartment has been fighting for justice for not just 2 years, but exactly 20 years."