Two people were killed and one injured after a fairy chimney near the entrance of the Göreme Open Air Museum in Cappadocia, Turkey, collapsed on Monday. The incident occurred around 3:00 p.m. local time, triggered by a landslide caused by heavy rainfall in the area.
Police, gendarmerie, AFAD disaster response teams and medical units were dispatched to the scene following emergency calls. The injured person was transferred to a hospital in Nevşehir, while search and rescue operations continued at the site. As a precaution against further collapses, people were evacuated from the area and approximately 150 vehicles were cleared from a nearby open-air car park.
Nevşehir Governor Hüseyin Kök addressed reporters at the scene, confirming that the collapse was caused by a landslide resulting from excessive rainfall. "As a result of the rockfall caused by the landslide in Göreme, we have so far reached the bodies of two individuals. One injured person has been taken to hospital and is receiving emergency treatment. Search and rescue operations are ongoing," Kök said.
Cappadocia's fairy chimneys, formed from soft volcanic tuff, have experienced collapses before. In 2024, one chimney crumbled at night following snowfall, with no casualties reported. Earlier in 2025, another partial collapse prompted gendarmerie to cordon off the area as a safety measure.
