AT least three people including a three-month-old baby have died after a fire broke out at a high-rise apartment in Ankara, Turkey.
The inferno reportedly tore through a 26-story building after starting on the fourth floor at around 10pm on Saturday.
20 people have been hospitalised, with one in critical condition.
Firefighters took about four hours to put out the raging blaze in Ankara’s Çankaya district.
People trapped inside the apartment were rescued by a fire truck – but rescue workers were tragically not able to save everyone.
Paramedics rushed to the building and attended to 26 people on site.
The scene of the incident was attended by firefighters, police, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), and the National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE).
State media also said 39 people suffered light smoke inhalation, including seven firefighters.
The public prosecutor has now launched an investigation to understand the cause of the terrifying inferno.
The apartment complex includes two separate high-rise buildings, and the fire reportedly engulfed one of them entirely.
Upon arrival at the apartment complex engulfed in flames, the first responders were reported to have initially disconnected the building’s electricity and natural gas lines as a safety measure.
It is understood that many people trapped by smoke inside the blazing building where the fire broke out fled to the higher floors.
Many residents were then rescued by crews using a ladder truck.
Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş said the fire started in an electrical shaft.
He said: “It spread from the electrical shaft to the upper floors, but there’s nothing left in the apartments.
“When the residents noticed it, they warned each other.”
He added: “Most of them escaped, and 26 people were rescued by the fire department.
“They are also in the hospital.”
Yavaş, who also attended the scene after the fire, added that two firefighters were taken to the hospital.
