Shafaq News / Twenty-five people were killed and three others were severely injured on Tuesday following a fire that broke out on the ground floor of a 16-story residential building in the Girit Tepe area of Istanbul.

The city governor's office stated in a press release that despite the efforts of firefighters to extinguish the fire, 25 people lost their lives in the incident. Three individuals were admitted to the hospital in critical condition.

The Governor of Istanbul, Davut Gul, stated from the scene of the incident that the fire had been extinguished, noting the loss of lives of workers who were conducting renovation work at the site.

Meanwhile, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu announced that “investigations had begun promptly to determine the cause of the fire.”

Imamoglu added that “the site of the fire was undergoing renovation work” and that “the materials used in these works contributed to the spread of the fire, but it had been brought under control, and the building had been evacuated.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a phone call to Interior Minister Ali Yerli Kaya, from whom he received information about the fire that broke out around 13:00 local time (GMT+3) during renovation work at the nightclub located on the first and second floors of the 16-story building, which had been closed for the month.