When Fate Strikes

(Sabah Newspaper, 24 December 2010)

An incredible accident not seen before in Istanbul...two workers
lost their lives when they fell from a trellis platform while they
were painting a building in Maltepe. Akif Dolu (45) and Ali Tezbaşaran
(47) were standing on a platform at the sixth floor when the rope used
to lift the platform up became entangled in the wheel of Arif Ikiz's
passing car. The trellis platform was pulled away from the building
and the workers fell to their deaths.

The car's driver Arif Ikiz was taken into custody by police at Küçükyalı.
He said in his statement to the police that he didn't notice the rope and
he heard the resulting commotion too late. Memduh Şahinkaya, who
who was working at the base of the trellis platform, said he tried to
warn the driver when the rope became entagled in the wheel but to
no avail. Şahinkaya added that 'Ali had told me in the morning 'you're
scared of the platform, don't go up. Go get some supplies.' Otherwise
I would have been up there with them.'