The building's three lower floors, including a ground-floor shop, caved in before dawn on the Asian side of Istanbul, a city divided by the Bosporus Strait. The cause of the collapse was not immediately known, and an investigation is underway, authorities said.
Residents from the upper floors were safely evacuated, while search teams rescued eight more people from the rubble. The Istanbul governor's office confirmed that two bodies had been recovered and efforts were continuing to reach two people still believed to be inside.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said rescuers had made contact with a six-year-old trapped in the rubble, though it was not immediately clear if the child was among those rescued. He warned that the building was at risk of further collapse, hampering rescue operations. Nearby buildings were also evacuated for safety.
The incident comes as Istanbul and other parts of Turkiye undergo an urban transformation programme aimed at replacing old and earthquake-prone buildings with safer housing. The collapse has raised renewed attention to building safety standards in the city.