Turkish authorities have begun to assess and count the damage caused by the explosion that rocked yesterday afternoon a neighbourhood in the municipality of Torbalı, on the outskirts of the city of Izmir, killing five people and injuring 63.
Turkish gendarmerie teams were continuing this morning to secure the area where the explosion occurred; according to the Turkish NTV portal, the blast took place at 15:00 hours (14:00 CET) on Sunday at a restaurant on Barış Manço Avenue in the Ayrancılar neighbourhood. As part of the investigation launched following the incident, a person has been arrested for allegedly having been in charge of replacing a gas cylinder the day before the explosion.
Immediately after being alerted by neighbours, numerous emergency services, including firefighters, police and medical teams, were called to the scene. The detonation ripped through the premises on the ground floor of an apartments block and also caused extensive and serious damage to several vehicles and other buildings in the vicinity. A fire that broke out as a result of the explosion was, however, quickly extinguished by fire brigades, fortunately without major consequences.
For the time being, the entrance to the avenue where the incident occurred has been blocked, while city officials have started to meet with neighbours and business owners in the street affected by the explosion in order to draw up a final report on the full extent of the damage. Both the local municipality of Torbalı and the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) have sent relief teams to provide assistance to the affected residents.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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