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Two separate expert reports into the collapse of Iskenderun State Hospital’s A Block, where 125 people died during the Feb. 6 earthquakes in southern Türkiye, reached sharply different conclusions on the responsibility of the Health Ministry, according to a report by Karar.
The building, located in Hatay’s Iskenderun district, became one of the deadliest public structures to collapse during the Kahramanmaras-centered earthquakes. The victims included patients, health workers and doctors.
Families of those killed have taken legal action not only through the criminal investigation but also through compensation cases before administrative courts, which handle disputes involving public institutions in Türkiye.
In one case filed at Hatay 4th Administrative Court by two people who lost their mother in the hospital collapse, a court-appointed expert panel issued its report on June 9, 2026.
That report assigned 95% fault to the Health Ministry and 5% to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), Türkiye’s disaster and emergency management authority.
The experts noted that the hospital had been described in 2012 as “not earthquake-resistant” and in 2016 as having “insufficient earthquake safety.” Despite those findings, the building continued to be used.
According to the report, the Health Ministry failed to take measures such as strengthening, evacuation, restricting use, renewal or demolition, even though technical assessments had already set out the risk of collapse.
The panel said that “necessary preventive and corrective actions were not carried out with sufficient effectiveness in the face of a foreseeable risk.”
The report also underlined that hospitals are critical structures expected to keep serving during disasters. AFAD was given limited fault on the grounds that risks in Hatay’s disaster risk reduction planning were not made concrete enough and effective coordination was not ensured.
A second compensation case was filed at Hatay 5th Administrative Court by two people who lost their father in the same collapse. In that file, another expert panel submitted its report on June 13, 2026, only four days after the first report.
This time, the contractor, project authors and technical supervisors were found 75% at fault for failing to carry out their duties in line with regulations.
Public institutions were assigned a total of 25% fault. The report attributed 15% fault to Iskenderun Municipality over inspection failures and the lack of urban transformation work, 5% to Hatay Metropolitan Municipality over disaster preparedness and coordination shortcomings, 3% to the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry over inspection and planning deficiencies, and 2% to AFAD over shortcomings in disaster preparedness and inspection activities.
Unlike the first report, this second report did not make any fault assessment regarding the Health Ministry.
The conflicting reports have drawn attention as families continue to seek accountability more than three years after the disaster.
In a letter sent by the Iskenderun Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to the Health Ministry on Feb. 4, 2026, prosecutors said reports had been prepared in 2012 and 2016 warning that the hospital was not earthquake-resistant and had insufficient earthquake safety.
The same letter also noted that a new hospital had been included in the investment program in 2019. Prosecutors asked whether an administrative investigation had been carried out into those responsible.
However, the criminal investigation into the collapse of Iskenderun State Hospital’s A Block has still not been completed.
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