ISTANBUL (AFP) — Two children and their parents died when a building collapsed in a town near Istanbul, authorities said Thursday, while media said the accident highlighted Turkey’s lax planning controls.

A metro tunnel is being dug near the seven storey apartment block in Gebze, about 60 kilometers east of Istanbul, and media reports said authorities had been warned that cracks had appeared in the building.

Hundreds of rescuers dug through the rubble and the bodies of two children were uncovered on Wednesday and those of their two parents at dawn on Thursday.

The Birgun newspaper, close to Turkey’s opposition, said the collapse “again puts the spotlight on weaknesses in safety and planning for buildings.”

The issue is sensitive as Turkey is frequently hit by earthquakes. A major quake in February 2023 killed at least 50,500 people in southeast Turkey, many crushed in buildings that could not resist the shock.