A fire at a nightclub in Istanbul on Tuesday may have begun because of renovations at the club, killed dozens of people and injured at least one, according to multiple reports and the Turkish government, though an investigation is ongoing.
The fire that killed at least 29 people was at Masquerade Istanbul, a nightclub on the two basement floors of a 16-story residential building that had been closed for renovations, according to the New York Times.
The website for Masquerade Istanbul said it would be closed between March 10 and April 10 “due to our new design renovation,” though Masquerade did not have a permit to complete its renovations, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, said Tuesday, according to multiple reports.
Some of the people who died were construction workers, TRT World, the national public broadcaster of Turkey, reported.
Video footage of the flames—which were extinguished after firefighters arrived—showed them as high as the building’s third floor, Reuters reported.
Fahrettin Altun, Turkey’s communications director, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the necessary investigations into the cause of the fire have been launched.
Yilmaz Tunc, Turkey’s minister of justice, said in a post on X that detention orders were issued for five people, including three workplace officials, the manager of the club and one person involved with the renovation, and the Associated Press reported at least eight people were detained for questioning.
The official cause of the fire is still unknown and under investigation, Istanbul Gov. Davut Gul told reporters Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
4,000. That’s how many guests the nightclub could hold, according to its website.
The nightclub had hosted a number of big acts in the past, including 50 Cent, Ciara and Tyga, according to its Instagram.