ANKARA, February 17. /TASS/. Some 10,000 residents of Istanbul live in houses that may instantly collapse in case of an earthquake, Bugra Gokce, Deputy Secretary General of Istanbul's city hall, said on Friday.

"There are 318 buildings in the city, which house about 10,000 people, that are at risk of instant collapse [in case of an earthquake]. These buildings do not even have E-class (lowest class - TASS) earthquake resistance. Another 1,525 buildings in Istanbul have class D and E, which is a higher risk," the Demiroren news agency quoted the official as saying.