Turkish justice officials pursued more than 130 persons allegedly involved in substandard and unlawful construction procedures.
The death toll from the 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes on February 6 increased to 33,179 on Sunday.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said Sunday that some 131 people were under investigation for their alleged responsibility in the construction of buildings that failed to withstand the quakes.
While the quakes were powerful, victims, experts and people across Turkey are blaming faulty construction for multiplying the devastation.
Turkey’s construction codes meet current earthquake-engineering standards, at least on paper, but they are too rarely enforced, explaining why thousands of buildings toppled over or pancaked down onto the people inside.
