Rock collapse near UNESCO-listed site in Turkey’s Cappadocia kills at least two 

ANKARA — At least two people were killed and five others were injured on Thursday when rocks broke off a volcanic rock formation in Turkey’s popular tourism destination of Cappadocia, which is known for its cave dwellings.

Emergency and rescue teams were dispatched to the site, which is located near Goreme Open Air Museum in Turkey’s central Anatolian province of Nevsehir. 

Nevsehir Gov. Huseyin Kok said heavy rain triggered a landslide that caused rocks to break off a volcanic formation known as a “fairy chimney” and fall onto people below.

Rescue teams recovered the bodies of two people and took injured people to the hospital. Authorities did not release the identities of those killed or injured.

“Search and rescue operations are continuing at the scene,” Kok told reporters near the site, without specifying whether anyone else was believed to be trapped beneath the rocks.

Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said an investigation has been launched into the incident.

Cappadocia’s fairy chimneys are tall rock formations shaped by the gradual erosion of volcanic material. 

Goreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia, located within the region, were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1985. The Goreme Open Air Museum, where the collapse took place, is a complex of churches, chapels and monasteries carved into the rock.