Turkey’s Deputy Interior Minister Mehmet Aktas said rescuers are continuing to search for the parents of a family found trapped under the rubble of a building after the collapse that occurred in the Mevlana Mahalesi area of the town of Gebge, in the province of Koçaeli.

Aktaş said that so far, three of the family’s children have been located; however, only one of them, 18-year-old Dilara, was found alive. “Thank God, the eldest daughter of the family, 18-year-old Dilara, has been rescued. During the operation, there was communication with her, and she was fully conscious. She was taken to the hospital,” he said.

He added that “unfortunately, the other child of the family, Hirunisha, was found dead. In total, we rescued three children, but unfortunately, two did not survive.” According to Aktaş, the three children were found in the same room, while the parents are most likely in another part of the house.

The collapse occurred around 7:30 a.m. on Isikgel Street for an as-yet unknown cause.

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Dilara Bilir'in #Gebze’de çöken binanın enkazından sağ çıkarıldığı anlar kamerada.

627 kişilik ekip anne ve babaya ulaşmak için çalışmalarına devam ediyor.https://t.co/2xD4XM2kVP pic.twitter.com/EglmpN3VNN

— TRT HABER (@trthaber) October 29, 2025

“Searches to locate the mother and father continue. We estimate there are five people in the building in total. Although we have not received any audio signals from the parents, we are not losing hope. The rescue team is large and is working relentlessly.”
He said.

The Turkish official expressed hope that the efforts will soon bear fruit: “We hope that very soon we will be able to locate both parents.”