Deadly Istanbul nightclub fire was likely caused by welding sparks, Turkish media reports say

ISTANBUL (AP) — A fire that spread through an Istanbul nightclub during renovations, killing 29 people, was likely caused by welding sparks igniting combustible material, a newspaper reported Wednesday, citing fire department officials.

The fire engulfed the popular Masquerade nightclub on Tuesday, trapping workers and club employees inside. It left 29 people dead and another person with serious injuries.

Authorities have detained nine people for questioning, including club managers and people in charge of the renovation work.

The club, which was closed for renovations during the holy month of Ramadan, was located on the ground and basement floors of a 16-story residential building in the Besiktas district on the European side of the city bisected by the Bosphorus Strait. It had planned to reopen on April 10.

Gov. Davut Gul told reporters that the cause of the fire was under investigation. The government assigned prosecutors and investigators to probe the incident.

The Yeni Safak newspaper, which is close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, said the fire is believed to have been caused by sparks from a welding machine being used to install sound insulation and decoration material. It reportedly set off an explosion which in turn set other construction material ablaze.

The newspaper cited unidentified fire department officials in its report. The Sabah newspaper published a similar report. Officials have not publicly commented on the fire's cause.

HaberTurk television reported that the area where the renovation work was taking place was like a “labyrinth,” making it difficult for the victims to find their way out.

The victims included Gokhan Tevlek, a club DJ, Atanur Aladag, who was employed as a cook, and Akin and Yilmaz Kihri, a father-and-son team of welders, according to Turkish media reports.

Video from the scene showed flames billowing from the side of the building, firefighters dousing an entrance to the club and people carrying a victim on a stretcher toward an ambulance.

“After the fire brigade arrived, bodies started to come out of the nightclub,” state-run Anadolu quoted witness Sema Soganci as saying. “People were screaming, everything happened so suddenly. The flames were like crazy.”

“I started to cry, I was nervous,” she said.

Another witness, Mehmet Cengiz, told Anadolu, “We saw firefighters entering and coming out all blackened.”

The nightclub had a capacity of 4,000 guests, according to its website. The manager of the residential building told reporters Wednesday that the premise was originally designed as a cinema.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said the club had not obtained the required permits to conduct renovations.

Firefighters and emergency teams work in the aftermath of a fire that broke out during day time in a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. A fire at an Istanbul nightclub during renovations on Tuesday killed at least 29 people, officials and reports said. Several people, including managers of the club, were detained for questioning. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Firefighters work in the aftermath of a fire in a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. A fire at an Istanbul nightclub during renovations on Tuesday killed at least 29 people, officials and reports said. Several people, including managers of the club, were detained for questioning. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Two women gather as firefighters and emergency teams work in the aftermath of a fire in a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. A fire at an Istanbul nightclub during renovations on Tuesday killed at least 29 people, officials and reports said. Several people, including managers of the club, were detained for questioning. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Shenzhou-17 spacecraft returned to Earth Tuesday, carrying three astronauts who have completed a six-month mission aboard the country’s orbiting space station.

The three, Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, landed at the Dongfeng site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the Gobi desert shortly before 6:00 p.m. (1000 GMT). It comes roughly four days after the Shenzhou-18 mission docked with the station with their three-member replacement crew onboard.

China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, largely because of U.S. concerns over the Chinese military’s total control of the space program amid a sharpening competition in technology between the two geopolitical rivals. This year, the Chinese station is slated for two cargo spacecraft missions and two manned spaceflight missions.

China’s ambitious space program aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030, as well as bring back samples from Mars around the same year and launch three lunar probe missions over the next four years.

The new crew is made up of Commander Ye Guangfu, 43, a veteran astronaut who took part in the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021, and fighter pilots Li Cong, 34, and Li Guangsu, 36, who are spaceflight rookies.

They will spend about six months on the three modules of the space station, the Tiangong, which can accommodate up to six astronauts at a time. During their stay, they will conduct scientific tests, install space debris protection equipment, carry out payload experiments, and beam science classes to students on Earth.

China has also said that it eventually plans to offer access to its space station to foreign astronauts and space tourists. With the ISS nearing the end of its useful life, China could in future remain the only country or corporation to maintain a crewed station in orbit.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming the third country after the former Soviet Union and the U.S. to put a person into space using its own resources. Tiangong was launched in 2021 and completed 18 months later.

The U.S. space program is believed to still hold a significant edge over China’s due to its spending, supply chains and capabilities. However, China has broken out in some areas, bringing samples back from the lunar surface for the first time in decades and landing a rover on the less explored far side of the moon.

The U.S. aims to put a crew back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025 as part of a renewed commitment to crewed missions, aided by private sector players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the capsule of Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship carrying astronauts Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin touches down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. The return capsule of China's Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship landed back on Earth Tuesday with three astronauts who have completed a six-month mission aboard the country's orbiting space station. (Bei He/Xinhua via AP)