The governor of İstanbul, Vasip Şahin, has said that 37 of 123 illegal immigrants who fled a deportation center in the Kumkapı district of İstanbul after the building was set on fire on Saturday have been apprehended.
“Police have worked overnight and taken 37 of them back to the deportation center,” said Şahin during a visit to the Silivri Deportation Center on Sunday.
Acknowledging that that the Kumkapı Deportation Center did not meet modern standards, Şahin said two deportation centers had been established in Silivri and Çatalca, on the European side of İstanbul, and that a third one would be built on the Asian side.
Şahin added that when the new deportation centers are operating at full capacity, the Kumkapı center would be withdrawn from service.
One hundred twenty-three illegal immigrants set furniture on fire to protest their living conditions and escaped after breaking down the main gate of the deportation center in Kumkapı. Police fired warning shots but could not prevent the migrants from fleeing.