Turkish hotel collapses

At least one person has been killed and more than a dozen injured in the collapse of a small hotel in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

Initial reports suggest the collapse of the two-storey building in the Aksaray district on the European side of the city may have been related to tunnelling work on a nearby metro line.

They checked the place - they said everything was fine. Now look at it

Mehmet Cinar,
owner's son

At least 17 people were taken to hospital with minor injuries, and a private Turkish television station reported that rescue workers asked doctors to amputate the leg of one victim caught in the rubble.

Istanbul fire department chief Sabri Yalin said there were still people trapped in the remains of the building.

"We are hearing the sounds of five people at the moment. We don't know about the others," he told the Reuters news agency.

About 50 people were staying at the Cinar Pension, most of them believed to be Romanian or Iranian.

Metro trains have been ordered not to exceed speeds of 30 kilometres per hour (18 mph) in the wake of the collapse so as not to further destabilise the area.

The roof of the building fell through to the foundation and the remaining structure is sagging, rescue workers said.

Rain hampers rescue

Three buildings nearby collapsed after being evacuated after the incident, and several other buildings are said to be in danger of collapsing as well.

Heavy rain in the area has hampered rescue efforts, which involve sound detectors, specially trained dogs and heavy digging equipment.

Mehmet Cinar, the son of the hotel's owner, said the building had passed a city inspection recently.

"They checked the place. They said everything was fine," he told Reuters. "Now look at it."