A powerful storm spawned a tornado that ripped through a construction site early Tuesday in Turkey's Mediterranean coastal province of Antalya, leaving four workers dead and another injured, according to local officials.
Antalya Governor Hulusi Sahin told reporters that the tornado struck the building site in the Kepez district, completely destroying a container housing workers. Three of the four victims who lost their lives were Syrian nationals. A fifth laborer, who was staying inside a separate container, sustained injuries during the disaster, though details regarding their condition were not immediately available.
In addition to demolishing the living container, the whirlwind knocked down a heavy crane at the construction site. The severe event occurred shortly after Turkey's national weather agency had issued warnings forecasting heavy rainfall across the region.
Governor Sahin confirmed that no further structural damage was reported elsewhere in the Kepez district or across the broader Antalya province. While tornadoes periodically hit Antalya and other areas along Turkey's Mediterranean coast, fatal occurrences remain rare.
The deadly storm struck as Antalya prepares to host COP31, the United Nations climate summit, next month. Severe weather has affected the country recently; earlier this month, severe flooding in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, claimed the lives of eight people.
