Turkey detains six over deadly fire that killed schoolgirls

Turkey on Wednesday detained six people suspected of negligence after 12 people, most of them schoolgirls, were killed in a fire at a dormitory in the southern region of Adana.

Those detained as part of the investigation into accusations of "causing death by negligence" include the manager of the dormitory in the Aladag district of Adana, the Dogan news agency said.

Officials said many of the victims were killed on the top floors of the dormitory after they were unable to open a fire door to flee the flames.

Dogan said most of the dead would be identified after DNA tests, adding that one of those killed was the four-year-old daughter of the dormitory manager held by the police.

Eleven schoolgirls and one tutor were killed in the fire, which officials said was likely caused by an electrical fault.

It then spread rapidly due to the wooded structures inside and carpeted floors. All the schoolgirls were said to be 14 or under.

The head of the Egitim-Is education union Mehmet Balik said the dorm belonged to a religious Sunni Muslim sect in Aladag. The girls had been sleeping there as the state-run dorm had been demolished for expansion, Dogan reported.

Reports said that the dorm – run by a religious community known as the "Suleymanci" – was the only option in the area for the girls' parents.

The Suleymanci are one of the biggest religious communities in Turkey and are renowned for having a major influence in politics.

Adana governor Mahmut Demirtas said on Tuesday that some terrified schoolgirls were injured after jumping out of the window to escape the flames. He added that none of those injured was in a serious condition.

Mayor of Adana city Huseyin Sozlu told Turkish television that the fire door of the dorm was locked and most of the dead were recovered from near the door.