İstanbul Third Airport construction site flooded

New Istanbul Airport construction site was flooded due to heavy rain. The camp where the workers live was also hit by the flood
Wednesday, 19 December 2018 15:39

New Istanbul Airport, which started to operate partially, was flooded due to heavy rain.

While the flood also hit the camp where the workers were living, many rooms and personal belongings of the workers remained under the rainwater.

The airport is one of a number of "mega-projects" of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The pro-government contractors had been forcing workers to work day and night under inhuman conditions to finish the project.

As some resources report that around 400 workers have been killed at the site since the beginning of the massive airport project, the AKP government had denied such reports and said that 27 workers died since the construction had begun in May 2015. However, the government recently admitted that "at least 52 workers" have died on the site since construction began in 2015. 

In September, hundreds of workers walked off the job at Istanbul's new international airport in protest at poor conditions and work-related deaths on the site. AKP government cracked down, arresting hundreds. Most were released without charge. After the protests, 62 workers had been taken into custody, while the court had ruled that 31 of them would be jailed pending trial.

A court on December 5 ordered the release of 31 Istanbul Airport construction workers detained.