An apartment building collapsed Thursday on a crowded street in Istanbul, and rescuers pulled two people from the rubble, local media said.

As dusk fell, it was unclear whether anyone else was trapped beneath the debris.
Mayor Kadir Topbas said the collapse was the result of "serious negligence" by a contractor hired to tear down a building next door. He said careless work had damaged the foundation of the apartment building.

Local media said rescuers pulled two injured people from beneath the rubble. It was not immediately clear how seriously they were injured.

Residents were evacuated from the building just before it collapsed when a "cracking" sound was heard, Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler said, adding that one or two reportedly had gone back inside to pick up their belongings.

There were conflicting reports on whether the structure was six or eight stories.
Building collapses are common in Turkey, where shoddy construction was blamed for the deaths of many of the 18,000 people who were killed during two massive earthquakes in 1999.