A rare tornado tore through a construction site in Antalya’s Kepez district late on Monday, killing four workers and injuring a fifth as accommodation containers were lifted off the ground and a tower crane collapsed, Turkish officials said.
What officials confirmed on the ground
Antalya Governor Hulusi Şahin said the storm struck around 11:30 p.m. local time and described it as an “exceptionally localized phenomenon,” with no similar weather reported elsewhere in the Mediterranean resort city. Two workers died at the scene and two others succumbed in hospital, his office said. A fifth worker was treated for injuries.
Video circulated by Turkish broadcasters showed twisted sheet metal and crushed cabins at the site. Şahin said the falling crane did not hit other structures or passers-by, limiting casualties to the crew quarters that took the direct force of the winds.
Meteorologists quoted by Euronews said the tornado formed along a narrow squall line ahead of a broader low-pressure system moving across the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey’s disaster agency, AFAD, had not issued a separate national bulletin on the Kepez event by midday Tuesday, underscoring how confined the damage footprint was.
Same system drenches Istanbul
The parent weather system also dumped intense rain on Istanbul, more than 500 kilometers to the northwest. Streets in Pendik and Tuzla flooded, and the D-100 highway was closed for hours after water submerged the Kaynarca underpass. Local media showed bystanders helping a father and daughter out of a car trapped in standing water.
The flooding comes just 12 days after record rainfall around Istanbul on 14 October killed eight people, raising fresh questions about drainage upgrades promised after that disaster. Istanbul Governor Davut Gül urged residents to avoid underpasses during downpours, but city officials have not yet published damage estimates from Monday night’s storms.
Construction safety under scrutiny
Labour groups in Antalya called for an immediate inspection of crane tie-downs and temporary housing at major building projects along the coast. Turkey’s construction sector has expanded rapidly as tourism and housing demand rebound, and unions have repeatedly warned that overnight crews in portable cabins are especially exposed when sudden storms hit exposed ridgelines.
Şahin said prosecutors opened an investigation into whether site managers followed civil-defense guidance for high-wind events. No company name has been released. AFAD teams remained at the Kepez site Tuesday to assess whether weakened structures posed a secondary collapse risk.
What happens next
Funeral arrangements for the four victims were being coordinated with their employers and provincial labour officials, the governor’s office said. Forecasters expect scattered thunderstorms to continue across southern coastal provinces through Wednesday before the system weakens.
For Antalya, a city that markets year-round sunshine to European tourists, the deaths are a stark reminder that Mediterranean storm bursts can still turn violent in minutes—even when the wider region sees only ordinary rain.