3 killed in rock spire collapse in Turkey’s touristic Cappadocia

Three people, including a foreign national, were killed on Thursday when a rock spire collapsed in Turkey’s Unesco-listed Cappadocia region after a landslide triggered by heavy rain, officials said.

Turkey’s Cappadocia region, a magnet for tourists from around the world, is home to cone-shaped rock formations known as “fairy chimneys”, created by ancient volcanic activity.

“According to initial findings, two people were killed and five others injured in the incident,” Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on social media.

Rescue teams later pulled another body from the rubble, bringing the death toll to three, Nevsehir Governor Huseyin Kok said.

One of those killed was a foreign national while the other two were Turkish, he added.

The incident occurred at 3.15pm when a landslide triggered a rockfall in the town of Goreme near the open-air museum, the governor said.

Witnesses described hearing a loud noise as the rock spire near a car park collapsed, sending up a huge cloud of dust.

The area was closed to the public after the collapse, according to local reports.

Rescuers and excavators operated through the night under powerful floodlights before concluding the operation.

“As of now, all our operations have been completed. We have finished all checks and inspections,” Governor Kok said in an updated statement.

“Our teams have been withdrawn after determining there is no further need to continue operations at this stage,” he said.

An investigation by the chief prosecutor’s office, together with expert assessments, will begin on Friday, he added.

In 2024, another rockfall was reported in Cappadocia, although no injuries were recorded.

Turkey’s culture and tourism ministry has launched restoration work in the region to help preserve the fragile rock formations from climate-related damage, natural erosion and human activity.

A Unesco heritage site since 1985, Goreme national park and the rock sites of Cappadocia are “a landscape of harmony combining human interaction and settlement with dramatic natural landforms”, according to the UN agency.

Some of the cones and pillars have experienced earthquake damage, but this is seen as a naturally occurring phenomenon.

“Overuse by tourists and some vandalism have been reported and some incompatible structures have been introduced,” it said on its website.

The Cappadocia region is also home to rock-carved underground cities and early Christian churches.

In 2025, some 4.5 million domestic and foreign tourists visited the region, according to tourism ministry figures.

Winter Sleep, the acclaimed drama by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan that won Cannes’ Palme d’Or in 2014, was set in the Cappadocia region.