ANKARA (Reuters) - Twelve people, including eleven teenagers, were killed when a fire swept through a girls dormitory in the southern Turkish province of Adana on Tuesday, officials said.

The fire, which broke out in a dormitory housing middle and high school students, may have been caused by an electrical fault, Omer Celik, a senior government official who represents the province in parliament, told broadcaster CNN Turk.

At least twenty-two other girls were injured, Celik said. Also among the dead was a woman who worked at the dormitory.

The dormitory housed impoverished girls whose families coming from nearby villages where there are no schools, Elif Dogan Turkmen, an opposition parliamentarian, told CNN Turk.

Television footage showed a blaze rising from the rooftop of a multi-storey building and teams of firefighters working to put it out.</s>Your opinions matter to us times;

Feedback 0 / 5</s>Twelve people were killed and several others were wounded after a fire broke out in a girls dormitory in southern province of Adana on Tuesday.

A worker and 11 middle and high school students aged 10-16 were killed in the fire, the head of the fire brigade department in Adana said.

On Wednesday, six people, including the school dormitory manager, were detained over the deadly fire.

Adana Governor Mahmut Demirtaş later confirmed the toll and added that 22 others were saved and sent to hospital. Demirtaş said the injured students were affected by the smoke and some of them were hurt by broken glass and jumping from upper floors while they were fleeing the building.

He stated that the fire broke out after an electrical meter in the building caught fire, but the investigation was still underway.

The governor added that the three-storey building had been evacuated as fire crews battled with blazes at the school girls' dormitory.



President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan telephoned Demirtaş early Wednesday and received an update on the situation, according to presidential sources.

Erdoğan said he was deeply sorry for the fire and wished mercy on those who lost their lives while hoping for a quick recovery for the wounded.



The fire may have been caused by an electrical fault, Ömer Çelik, a senior government official who represents Adana province in parliament, told broadcaster CNN Türk.

The ministry of education said that the dorm's capacity was about 54 people but only 34 students had been staying in the dorms.



Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, National Education Minister Ismet Yılmaz and Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya headed to Adana late on Tuesday, according to sources with the prime ministry.

The ministers arrived in the scene early on Wednesday and recevied infromation from local officials.</s>12 killed, 24 wounded in dormitory fire in Turkey’s Adana

ADANA

A total of 12 people, mostly children, were killed and another 24 were wounded late on Nov. 29 when a fire broke out at a private girls’ dormitory in the Aladağ district of the southern province of Adana.The fire broke out around 7:30 p.m. and instantly surrounded the building, which belongs to the Tahsil Çağındaki Talebelere Yardım Derneği (Aid Association to Education-age Students).Firefighters were only managed to extinguish the fire three hours later.The bodies of 10 students, including one child and educator identified as Fatma Canatan, were pulled from the three-story building, while another 24 students who were exposed to smoke and jumped from the windows to escape were taken to hospital.The lifeless bodies of eight students were found in the attic of the building, while the bodies of other three students and Canatan were found on the second floor.Sare Betül Genç, the four-year-old daughter of the dormitory manager, was also killed in the fire.Seven of those killed were identified following DNA tests, while the autopsy proceedings to identify the other five are ongoing.Adana Governor Mahmut Demirtaş had earlier announced that a total of 34 students were staying at the private secondary school dormitory.The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, though Adana Firefighter Unit Department Head Fatih Durukan said initial examinations indicated that it might have been caused by a loose electric contact.Aladağ Mayor Mustafa Alpgedik said the fire broke out on the ground floor before rising to the third floor, which was mostly wooden. The roof of the building completely collapsed after the fire spread to the third floor.The Kozan Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has announced that arrest warrants had been issued for a total of 14 people, including dormitory personnel and managers of the dormitory association, as a part of the investigation into the incident. Three chief public prosecutors were assigned to investigate the fire, it said.Police in Adana detained six people, including dormitory manager Cumali Genç, educators and dormitory personnel as part of the investigation.Meanwhile, Turkey’s media watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), announced a gag order on reporting the fire, following a decision of the Aladağ criminal court of peace, until the investigation is complete.Earlier on Nov. 29, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Governor Demirtaş after the fire to get an update on the situation, according to presidential sources.Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım was also briefed by the governor and related ministers who arrived at the scene.Demirtaş also briefed Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman on the incident, as the latter expressed his condolences in a phone conversation.The U.S. Embassy in Ankara extended its condolences to the relatives of the victims in the aftermath of the tragedy.Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, Education Minister İsmet Yılmaz, Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya and Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) head Mehmet Görmez headed to the district to make examinations at the scene and visit the wounded in hospitals.Mehmet Karataş, the father of one of victims Cennet Karataş, said it was his daughter’s first year at the dormitory, adding that he had no choice other than to send his daughter to the dormitory because it was the only girls’ dormitory in the district.Another local in the district told the Doğan News Agency that the authorities had demolished a previous dormitory in the district and settled the children there in a different private girls’ dormitory.Opposition figures have also condemned lax safety monitoring that led to the deadly fire.Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu criticized the government for not implementing necessary safety measures in dormitories, amid claims of locked fire escape doors at the dormitory.“When you look at the dormitory, you realize that there was a fire escape but all of our children who died there were just in front of that door. They couldn’t open it because it was locked,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.“This is despite the fact there are possible technological solutions. There are doors that cannot be opened from outside but can be opened from inside. Why are they not using those doors? Why were precautions not taken? Why was that approved?” he added.Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak claimed on Nov. 30 that there was in fact no lock on the fire escape door, quoting the prosecutor’s initial examinations.Kaynak also said the dormitory had been authorized by the Education Ministry and inspected twice a year, with the last inspection conducted in June.Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya said a “meticulous” investigation was underway to reveal whether the door of the fire escape was locked, vowing that anyone found to have been negligent in the incident would be punished.Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahçeli said in a written statement that the cause of the fire should be immediately revealed, urging the government to find and punish those responsible for the fire by failing to guarantee the dormitory’s safety.Bahçeli recalled that it was the government’s principal duty to claim responsibility and protect future generations.Dormitory fires are not uncommon in Turkey. Back in 2008, an explosion triggered by a gas leak in a religious preparatory school in the Central Anatolian province of Konya claimed the lives of 18 girls and wounded another 29. Charges were brought against the dormitory manager as well as other officials but the case is still ongoing.Six students were killed in a fire in a Qoran school in Diyarbakır on Nov 30, 2015.</s>ISTANBUL — A Turkish governor and state-run media say a fire at a student dormitory for girls in the southern town of Aladag has killed 12 people and wounded 22 others.

Adana Governor Mahmut Demirtas was quoted by Turkey's state-run news agency on Tuesday night as giving the death toll and saying the wounded were taken to a hospital. The Anadolu Agency also reported that the fire took place in a middle school dormitory for girls.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

Turkish television showed flames rising from a multiple-story building in the town and firefighters deployed at the scene.</s>ISTANBUL- A fire at a middle school dormitory for girls in southern Turkey left 12 people dead and 22 injured Tuesday night, a Turkish governor and state-run media said.

Adana Governor Mahmut Demirtas said one teacher and 11 students were killed in the fire in the town of Aladag and the wounded were taken to a hospital, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency, which described the building as a middle school dormitory for girls.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Demirtas said the dormitory had 34 people and the fire may have been caused by an electrical problem. No one was left in the building, he said.

Turkish television showed flames rising from a three-story building and firefighters battling the blaze. Several windows on the building were scorched black and ashen debris littered the dormitory entrance. Footage broadcast by TRT showed a man being evacuated in an ambulance stretcher with an oxygen mask on.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak were heading to the scene, according to Anadolu.</s>St. Vincent de Paul Society members expected to make more than 300 Thanksgiving dinner boxes from donations received on Turkey Tuesday, Nov. 22 at the Payson Bashas’. Pitching in and providing a few laughs was the SVP turkey, at left, helping Dee Kelly with her purchases. Volunteers stationed outside of Bashas’ in Payson on Tuesday collected donated turkeys and other food and later handed out full meals to Rim Country families in need that signed up for them at the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank, 511 S. St. Phillips St. The event was co-sponsored by KMOG and Channel 12 News.</s>I’m going to be honest, when I first started the process of preparing a turkey, I had no idea what to do. I went to the store, bought a turkey, opened it and thought, “What in the world did I get myself into?” The only thing I knew how to do was preheat my oven to 350 degrees. Despite my questioning thoughts, I set out to make my first turkey.

Once you’ve opened up your turkey and preheated your oven, the first step is to clean out the insides. Let me tell you, this step absolutely horrified for me. I had about fifty pairs of gloves on and was still terrified to put my hands inside the turkey and take out all of its remains. I was about ready to throw in the towel.

I had no idea what to do next and still nauseous from seeing all the blood pour out of this dead bird. Now, I could have googled a recipe or I could have bought a How to Cook a Turkey for Dummies book but instead, I called someone who would provide me with detailed instructions, someone who’d want to see me succeed, someone who has perfected the art of cooking turkeys ‒ my grandma.

After explaining my situation she said, “Oh, sweetheart. It would have been much easier if you just googled it instead of making it yourself.” My grandma has a lovely sense of humor.

Once she finished laughing at her granddaughter, the baker (not the cook), she provided me with the easiest and most detailed instructions a first-time turkey maker could ask for.

So today, I am providing you with step-by-step instructions on how to cook a turkey, provided by my grandma.

Once the inside of your turkey is cleaned out, you want to make sure you rinsed it thoroughly. The next step is to dry your entire turkey ‒ no excess water should be dripping from your bird. Then, you want to cover your entire turkey in either oil or butter. I used canola oil and rubbed it all over the turkey.

After your bird is lathered in oil or butter, add seasoning. I kept it simple and covered the entire turkey in salt and pepper. Additionally, I poured some poultry seasoning on the inside of the bird.

Next, take your turkey bag, add a tablespoon of flour and shake. This is an important step because the flour prevents the bag from popping. After your bag is covered in flour, all that’s left is to put your turkey in the bag and transfer it, breast side up, into a glass or aluminum pan. You then cut four slits across the top of the bag and put it in the oven. Now you just wait for 3 hours, checking every hour until it’s cooked to your liking.

My turkey actually came out great, to my surprise. I won’t be cooking turkey for my family’s Thanksgiving, but I can say with confidence that I have added this skill to my repertoire. I highly encourage you to try it out for yourself. If I can do it, so can you!
A fire kills at least 12 people and another 22 were injured in Adana Province, Turkey.