A new expert report has been submitted in the Serin-2 Apartment case in Diyarbakır, which collapsed in the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes on February 6, 2023, killing 77 people and injuring 29. The report, prepared by a four-member panel from Ankara University and Middle East Technical University at the request of the Diyarbakır 7th High Criminal Court, stated that the quality of the concrete in the building was seriously inadequate and played a significant role in the collapse. It noted that reinforcement was used contrary to the structural design and that the stirrup spacing and hook details did not comply with regulations.
It was reported that there were no technical findings showing that road and underpass construction approximately 19 meters from the apartment, vehicle vibrations, moisture or limited water flow had weakened the foundation and load-bearing system. The report stated that a load-bearing column beneath the building had been cut afterward and that this reduced the building’s earthquake resistance. The highest level of technical responsibility was assigned to the technical supervisor, site inspector, construction manager and contractor, while those who cut the columns or had them cut were assigned secondary but significant responsibility. 4 defendants are being tried without detention.
Why it matters
The new report places greater emphasis in the debate over the causes of the collapse on assessing irregularities in the building’s design and construction rather than on the road and underpass work in the surrounding area. Its findings concerning concrete quality, reinforcement practices and the column cut afterward are significant in terms of how technical faults are distinguished in similar cases. The grading of responsibility according to different duties and areas of intervention indicates that the connection between each defendant’s actions and the collapse will be considered separately during the trial. However, it is not yet clear how the court will assess the report, how these technical findings will translate into legal responsibility for the defendants being tried without detention, or what weight the act of cutting the column will carry in the chain of responsibility.