welding work caused the fire that killed 29 people in Istanbul

The investigation is progressing quickly. The fire which killed 29 people on Tuesday during illegal work in an Istanbul nightclub was started by welding work, according to a video published Wednesday April 3 by the Turkish Interior Minister.

In the video surveillance images made public, a worker with a blowtorch is welding a metal object when high flames suddenly form, immediately accompanied by thick smoke. The nightclub under construction was located in the basement of the 16-story residential building where the fire spread.

“The investigation (…) concerning the incident continues”specified the Minister of the Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, in a message published with the video on the social network boss of the metallurgical company responsible for the work, announced the governorate of Istanbul.

The town hall of the Besiktas district, where the disaster occurred, said on Tuesday that it had not been contacted “no request for authorization” from the owners of the nightclub nor from the entrepreneur “concerning a possible renovation of the premises”.