Turkish boiler blast traps eight

A heating boiler explosion today knocked down part of a five-storey building that houses military families in Diyarbakir, the largest city in south-east Turkey, the governor’s office said. At least three people were injured.

Turkey’s NTV television station said eight people were believed to be trapped under the collapsed building.

Rescuers have already pulled seven people from the rubble.

Sirens blaring, ambulances rushed to the scene as dozens of soldiers clawed through the rubble in the search for survivors. Rescuers also used sniffer dogs to comb the wreckage.

Three people, including two children, were injured, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported. At least five apartments were affected by the explosion.

The heating boiler exploded at around 8:30am in the basement of the building, located inside the perimeter of a heavily guarded military compound in downtown Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated south-east.

Turkish troops have battled separatist Kurdish rebels in the region for decades.

The guerrillas have lately used remote-controlled bombs to attack Turkish military and police, but the clashes were largely isolated to mountainous areas.

The guerrillas belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, declared a unilateral truce on October 1, Turkey vowed to fight until all rebels are killed or surrender.

More than 37,000 people have died as a result of the fighting since 1984, when the rebels first took up arms against the state.