A destroyed building leans on a neighboring house following the earthquake in Samandag, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 (AP)

After the earthquakes in southeast Turkey that caused hundreds of buildings to collapse, the Turkish Justice Ministry issued arrest warrants for 171 individuals as part of an investigation into possible corruption in construction, according to Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, as quoted by Anadolu Agency.

Previous reports in the Turkish media described similar detentions of people thought to be connected to the investigation.

The news about the arrest of contractors and developers of buildings and housing complexes in Turkey began soon after the earthquakes had claimed the lives of thousands and while the search and rescue teams continued their efforts to find survivors in the ten affected provinces.

One of the most prominent of these contractors, Mehmet Yasar Coskun, owner of the Renaissance Residence complex in the southern Hatay province, was arrested by the authorities while he was trying to leave the country for Montenegro, from Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul.

The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey rose to more than 43,000 by February 23.

Furthermore, on February 20, the Turkish-Syrian border experienced a 6.4-magnitude earthquake as per a Reuters report with aftershocks reaching Syria and Lebanon, followed by yet another earthquake of 5.4 magnitude in the same region.

The Turkish Emergency and Disaster Management Department (AFAD) confirmed that the epicenter of both earthquakes was in Antakya, as Al Mayadeen correspondent in Turkey detailed that they struck the town of Samandag in Antakya.

Consequently, damaged buildings collapsed, which unfortunately indicated that there are people under the rubble. Citizens were urged by the AFAD to avoid being next to damaged buildings while the emergency management building responsible for managing the crisis in Hatay was evacuated.