Five-year-old girl rescued from collapsed building in Istanbul

A five-year-old girl has been rescued alive from the rubble of an eight-storey building which collapsed in Istanbul on Wednesday afternoon.

Turkish emergency services said Havva Tekgoz was found 18 hours after the collapse, and she was immediately rushed to hospital.

The young girl was carried to a waiting ambulance on a stretcher as one person in a crowd of onlookers chanted "God is great!"

It came several hours after a nine-year-old boy was also rescued from the debris.

At least three people have been found dead in the rubble, and 13 people - including the two children - have been rescued.

  • CCTV of the building collapse

Istanbul governor Ali Yerlikaya said three of the people rescued are in a serious condition.

He added: "All our prayers, all our hearts are with them.

"We are continuing with our search and rescue efforts so that we can deliver good news (about survivors)."

The building had 43 people living in 14 apartments, with a street-level ground floor and seven higher floors, Mr Yerlikaya said – adding that the top three floors had been built illegally.

It was not immediately clear how many people were trapped in the wreckage.

The site where the seven-story building collapsed Credit: DHA via AP

Turkish emergency authorities dispatched several rescue teams and medics to the site on the Asian side of Istanbul in the mostly residential Kartal district.

Security camera footage broadcast on HaberTurk television showed several people, including schoolchildren with backpacks, running away from the site as the building tumbled down and a cloud of dust engulfed the area.

"We rushed out as soon as we heard a loud noise. When we got out, we saw that the building had collapsed," resident Kenan Ayyildiz told the news channel.

The chief prosecutor’s office said it launched an investigation into the collapse of the 27-year-old building.

Rescue workers and people carry a victim from the rubble Credit: Emrah Gurel/AP

NTV television said rescue teams from the neighbouring provinces of Bursa and Sakarya were sent in to assist.

Authorities sealed off the area as crowds gathered to watch or help with the rescue operation.

Mr Yerlikaya urged people to vacate the scene to let rescuers operate more effectively.

Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog later announced the prosecutor’s office had ordered a media blackout, citing the ongoing investigation into the collapse.

Turkish television stations immediately ended live broadcasts from the scene.