Major fire in central Istanbul: flames spread to cars, city engulfed in smoke

At this moment, a powerful fire has suddenly erupted in one of the residential buildings in Istanbul's historic Fatih district for a yet unknown reason, causing strong panic among local residents.

As reported by BAKU.WS, the flames rising from the building grew within minutes and completely engulfed the structure.

The situation was aggravated by the fact that the fire spread to passenger cars parked on the street.

The cars began catching fire one after another, pushing the level of fear and anxiety in the area to the limit.

Numerous fire crews, police units, and emergency medical teams have been deployed to the scene.

The arriving fire teams launched a large-scale operation in several directions simultaneously - both to extinguish the fire in the building and to eliminate the blaze engulfing vehicles on the street.

The scale and intensity of the fire are evidenced by giant columns of black smoke rising into the sky.

Dense clouds of smoke rising above Fatih and plunging the sky into darkness are clearly visible from many distant areas of Istanbul.

Efforts are currently underway to fully extinguish the fire and determine whether there are any casualties.