Turkey calls off survivor search

A young woman was pulled alive from the rubble two days ago

Turkish authorities in the central city of Konya have called off rescue efforts in the rubble of an 11-storey block of flats which collapsed last week.

Ninety-two people are now known to have died under the debris, from which 29 people were pulled alive - including a 24-year old woman on Monday.

The sudden collapse of the block of flats was blamed on poor construction standards and subsequent alterations.

Two contractors have been charged with causing death through negligence.

It is enough to remove a single column from such a building to cause it to crash down like this Investigator Can Balkaya

The head of a team of experts investigating the disaster, Can Balkaya, said the materials used in the building were substandard.

He said the workmanship was also very bad - but the fatal blow probably came when columns were improperly removed in one wing.

"The building, which could barely stand, collapsed after the alterations," he said.

"It is enough to remove a single column from such a building to cause it to crash down like this."

Turkey is prone to earthquakes and the law demands high standards from builders.

But building codes are poorly enforced and earthquakes regularly demolish lethal apartment blocks built on the cheap.