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Turkey Investigates Construction Contractors as Earthquake Death Toll Passes 33,000

The country’s justice minister said 134 people were investigated for their role in erecting buildings which crumbled in the quake.

Authorities in Turkey have begun investigating construction contractors allegedly linked to building collapses which claimed occupants’ lives in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake last week. The death toll in Turkey and neighboring Syria rose above 33,000 on Sunday as rescue workers desperately continued their search to pull remaining survivors from the rubble. Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said 134 people were investigated for their role in constructing buildings which fell during the tremor, adding that three had been arrested while seven others were detained and seven more were banned from leaving the country. Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum on Sunday estimated that almost 25,000 buildings were either destroyed or damaged in last Monday’s disaster.