Fire Crews Put Out Istanbul Skyscraper Blaze
World | July 17, 2012, Tuesday| 671 views
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Debris from windows falls to the ground as a fire rages in a 42 storey tower block in central Istanbul 17 July 2012. Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze before any casualties. EPA/BGNES
A large fire that swept through a 42-storey building in the center of the Turkey's Istanbul has been extinguished.
Officials said no-one was injured in the Polat Tower building which houses shops, apartments and offices, as hundreds of people were safely evacuated, BBC informs.
Despite the extensive damage to the outside of the building, Mustafa Sarigul, the mayor of the district of Sisli, where the building is located, said the inside was largely unaffected.
"The building's fire-extinguishing system automatically activated," Sarigul said, as cited by international media. "Otherwise we could have faced a huge disaster."
1,500 people are said to have been inside the Tower at the moment of fire.
Experts say a faulty air conditioner could have triggered the blaze, according to The Voice of Russia.
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