Bursa fire that killed eight children, one woman was 'preventable,' says rights group

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A fire that killed eight children aged between one and 11 and a woman who was the mother of six last week was "preventable," the Fisa Children's Rights Center has said.

The fire in the northwestern Bursa province occurred due to "inequality and lack of control," said the group, noting that such fires occur mostly in low-income areas.

At least 17 children lost their lives in a fire in the first 10 months of the year, it added.

On November 15, a fire broke out in the home of the Aljasem family from Syria in the Yıldırım district of the northwestern city of Bursa.

The spouse and six children of Hussein Aljasem, and two children of his brother, Amir Aljasem, were killed in the fire caused by a heating stove.

"I installed the stove on the day of the fire yesterday. I installed it and left. Since I came from Syria, I had been living in an apartment with natural gas. I had to leave, and I had to move to a house with a stove. I was collecting cardboard to earn my family's livelihood," Aljsasem had told reporters the day after the incident. (AÖ/WM/VK)