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Saygin Serdaroglu / AFP - Getty Images
Dark clouds of smoke billow over the Besiktas district of Istanbul after a fire broke out at a 42-storey building. Turkey's Anatolia news agency said many people were stranded inside the luxurious Polat Tower Residence.
ISTANBUL, Turkey - A large fire broke out in a 42-story tower block in a central Istanbul district on Tuesday, sending thick smoke billowing into the air before firefighters extinguished the blaze.
There were no reports of casualties.
Live images on Turkish television showed the Polat Towers building, which is made up of residential apartments and offices, engulfed in black smoke with pieces of debris falling to the ground below as fire crews fought the blaze.
People wearing breathing masks were led out by fire crews. A nearby gas station and other buildings were also evacuated.
"It is not clear yet why or from where the fire was started. We will see when the fire brigade's report is finished. The cause will be investigated," said Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas.
"We could have experienced a catastrophe as at least 1,500 people reside in the building," he said.
PhotoBlog: Fire crews extinguish blaze at Istanbul tower block
The tower block's owner, Adnan Polat, said everyone from the building had been rescued.
"All of them left the building in a healthy condition. We also rescued a few pets. Our biggest reward is there was no loss of life. This building has an early warning system and this incident showed the importance of it to everyone," Polat said.
The flames appeared to spread from the base of the tower and raged up one side of the building, leaving it scorched black.
A video posted earlier on YouTube showed flames licking up the side of one corner of the building. Several glass windows appeared to be open.
State broadcaster TRT Haber quoted Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni as saying the fire had started in the air conditioning units at the base of the tower.
NBCNews.com staff and Reuters contributed to this report.
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The update- the fire is contained- only on the outside of the building- the 42-story Polat Towers with 1500 residents. Height 152 m (500 ft)- it has the latest installations of fire/disaster equipment. Owner Adnan Polat is thankful everyone got out safe- Istanbul's Gov. Huseyin Avni Mutlu tells Turkish TV that the initial inspection -cause of fire by technical fault at a section controlling air conditioning. By the way- the Syrian Refugees in Turkey are rioting over lack of water.
Patiently waiting for the fruitloops to compare this to 9/11 and how it was a hoax. Shouldn't be long now.
Took three hours and two minutes
From the video it looks like they used flammable foam insulation under the aluminum building skin and the fire once started in the foam just climbed the whole building until it had burnt it all away. Next time maybe they should use a insulation that is rated to prevent fire spread...
WTF it didnt collapse in its own footprint like the world trade towers and bldg 7 did on 911??
yup here it is lol
Boeing 747 fuel capacity is 63,705 U.S gal.
Anyone who knows anything about metal tempering, and how much heat can be generated from that much fuel is capable of doing would say that you have not done any research, or have any knowledge on the subject.
i would venture that kerosene/jet fuel can generate only so much heat and not nearly enough to reduce the temper on those beams reguardless of the amount involved
but then please help yourself to all the koolaid you need to keep your mind a blank