Rock formation collapse at Göreme in Turkey's Cappadocia kills at least three

Mixed · 2At least three people were killed when a rock formation known as a "fairy chimney" collapsed near the Göreme Open Air Museum in Turkey's Cappadocia region on Thursday 29 October 2026; early reports had put the toll at two. 1 2 Right · 2Nevsehir Governor Huseyin Kok said a landslide caused by heavy rainfall occurred at 3:15 p.m. local time (1215 GMT), and rock fragments fell onto people near the museum. 3 4 Right · 2The number of injured is reported differently: Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on X that initial findings showed two dead and five injured, while Reuters, citing the governor, reported one injured person reached by rescuers. 4 3

Right · 1Gurlek said search-and-rescue teams were continuing operations to locate any other victims who might be trapped under the debris, and Kok said the government was using all available resources at the scene. 4 Mixed · 2Rescuers pulled a third body from the rubble, Governor Kok said, and the Daily Mirror reported more visitors feared trapped, with an investigation launched; AFP said excavators and floodlights were working into the night. 1 2 Left · 1Turkish outlet TRT Haber, cited by the Daily Mirror, said the fragments fell on people standing at the museum entrance. 2

Right · 2Television footage showed heavy machinery digging through rubble, eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud noise as the spire next to an open car park fell, and the area was closed to the public. 4 5 Right · 1The nationalities of the dead and injured were not immediately clear. 3 Centre · 1The BBC's early report relied on local media, said the cause was not immediately known, and noted reports of heavy rain in the region. 6

Right · 2AFP noted that Turkey's culture and tourism ministry has begun restoration work to protect the fragile formations from climate-related damage, erosion and human activity, and that a 2024 rockfall in Cappadocia caused no deaths or injuries. 4 5