KONYA - Death toll increased to 14 and a total of 30 people were injured when an eleven-storey building collapsed in Selcuklu town of central province of Konya late on Monday.
Search and rescue efforts have continued throughout the night.
Sources told the A.A correspondent that a 30-year-old woman was pulled alive from the rubble of the building by search and rescue teams 16 hours after the disaster.
She is in good condition.
Relatives of those who were trapped under rubble, also participated in efforts despite freezing temperatures.
Konya Governor Ahmet Kayhan said that as many as 70 people might have been trapped under rubble of the collapsed building.
There were 37 apartments in the building which collapsed at about 20.15 local time. The cause was not immediately clear.
Search and rescue teams have rushed to the scene from neighboring provinces to participate in the efforts.
Nearby buildings were evacuated due to security reasons.
Meanwhile, the Red Crescent have sent humanitarian aid including tents, blankets and foodstuff.
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Sami Guclu visited the scene and received information from local officials.
''We don't know how many people are trapped inside the rubble. We are doing everything we can to locate them,'' he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said, ''it's still not clear what caused the building to collapse. Initial reports were that the furnace had exploded, but statements from officials show it may have collapsed due to an error in its construction.''
(AA) 03.02.2004