2 Die, 2 Injured After Fire at Armenian Catholic Church in Istanbul

ISTANBUL — Two people were killed and another two were hospitalized after a fire broke out in the lodging section of the Surp Pirgiç (Holy Saviour) Armenian Catholic Church in Istanbul’s Beyoglu district Monday night. Daily Sabah reports.

In the statement made by the Istanbul Governor’s Office, it was announced that security, health and fire crews were immediately sent to the region after a fire was reported in the lodging section of the Church.

After about four hours, the fire department units were able to extinguish the blaze.

During the work of the fire crews that searched the extinguished building, the lifeless body of one person was found. Following the arrival of crime scene investigation teams, the search in the lodging area continued and uncovered the lifeless body of one more victim.

Emphasizing that the fire was under control, the statement read: “Four people were evacuated in the fire, and two people affected by the smoke were sent to the hospital as a precautionary measure. The work of our on-duty teams at the scene of the fire continues. We offer our best wishes to the church community and the neighborhood residents. An investigation has been started on the subject.”

In a separate statement to reporters, Beyoglu District Governor Mustafa Demirelli, who arrived after receiving information about the firefighters’ efforts, shared that fire at Surp Pirgiç Armenian Catholic Church’s lodging broke out for unknown reasons, adding, “Our fire brigade started fire extinguishing efforts quickly. As of now, our firefighters are working on cooling.”

The spiritual leader of the Armenian Catholic Community of Turkey, Levon Zekiyan, also came to the region where the incident took place.