At least 14 girls aged 8-16 died and 27 were injured when Fridaymorning a part of a qu´ranschool in a village in Central Turkey collapsed. From under the broken stones cries for help were heard and rescue workers are trying to reach six girls who are still under the wreckage.

The explosion happened at 04.15AM, when pupils were at sleep. The mayor of the village says that a leaking gas bottle the cause of the collapse of the two storey high building is. Press agency Anatolia said it was gas from some installation. At this school, in the village of Balcilar nearby Taskent in the Toros mountain area, are special summer classes.

In the collapsed dorms were at the time of the explosion about 40 girls. One of the survivors said she went out of bed to wash herself for early motning prayer when she and some teachers heard strange noices from inside the kitchen. The teachers send her back to her dorm and after the explosion the building partly collapsed. She was in the part that did not.

Source: Dutch news site nieuws.nl

I read this this morning too.

Although I did not want to write anything when i read this post and the news in Turkish papers.
But I think I dont think this incident should be known as a simple accident and 18 young girls died as a result.
This incident is annoying and it makes my blood boil.
A building, quite far away from the city; The place was run as a Quran Course as well as a hostel (or a summer camp?) for girls by a ´sneaky´ sect; they have no permission for the course; they have no permission to use it as hostel;parents left those young girls there so they can be learning Quran.
Who will you be accusing there?
-The sect which finances and runs these courses?
-The parents who left their young daughters in that primitive environment for quran course and so that they would grow into morally acceptable girls. (None of the parents launched a complain about the incident..They all said that "it is the god´s order")
-The local authorities which knew what was going on but let it run
-The government which created a kind environment, so that these places can run so easily.

I dont want to swear but they all deserve swearing

I know how you feel, thehandsom, first I thought the building collapsed because it was poorly constructed -- now I read
a gas leak from kitchen pipes caused a powerful explosion, leaving also at least 27 people injured. Gaspipe explosions can occur in any part of the world. This has nothing to do with religion.

http://www.arabia.msn.com/Channels/msnnews/article.aspx?CatID=2&ID=550237&S=Read

Meltem, if you want to see how the poor cling to their religious beliefs, than watch this Italian movie:

You will seldom encounter a film that depicts a people and a culture with greater authenticity and sensitivity. The Tree of Wooden Clogs was justly awarded the Palme d’Or at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival. This film is in Italian with English subtitles. The DVD extras include a theatrical trailer and photo gallery. Although this film has a running time of almost three hours (177 minutes), it is never boring and holds viewer interest throughout. I highly recommend it.

clinging to religion is based on a strong emotional need approaching desperation. It is in times of helplessness and trouble that people turn to God.

Nobody could express this need for religion in hard times better than Chekhov in his "Uncle Vanya".

I can understand that parents, out of being religious or because of poverty, send their kids to a place like that. But I cannot understand they have not investigated the safety of a place, handing their kids over to other people who are responsable. So, I really cannot understand they won´t complain or go to court.

According to the mayor of the village, three staff members are accused of death by neglectancy and arrested. A spokesman of the local technical investigation team said that the organisation did not have all the acquired permit to open the summerschool.

nieuws.nl

As a parent that sends her child to camp every summer, I do expect a certain standard of safety. Glad to see that someone is being held responsible....but I think the government should be accountable for building safety as well...not just this building but ALL buildings used by the public. What a tragedy!

Three arrested for fatal dormitory collapse in Turkey

Anatolia news agency quoted one student, Merve Avci, as saying she had got up to wash before pre-dawn prayers when she and some teachers heard a strange sound and went to the kitchen to investigate. There, they saw a loose gas pipe, and she returned to her room after the teachers told her to close the door. Soon after, Avci told Anatolia, she smelled gas and there was an explosion. Half of the building collapsed, but she was in the section that remained intact. She said flames rose from the basement toward the top of the building.

http://www.welt.de/english-news/arti2274243/Three_arrested_for_fatal_dormitory_collapse_in_Turkey_.html

In today´s ZAMAN
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=149330