On Friday morning, a girls' dormitory collapsed in Balcilar, south-central Turkish, killing at least 14 girls and injuring 27 others, CNN reported.

In line with Osman Aydin, the governor of Konya province, up to 8 other girls are said to be trapped in the debris. Officials managed to make contact with some of them, he said.

As said by 13-year-old Merve Avci, while the girls were getting up for their regular morning prayers, a blast sent a wall of flame through the school dormitory. "We got up early for prayers and I went down to have a wash," the interviewed girl told the Anatolia news agency.

It is believed that the collapse was triggered by a gas canister explosion. At the time the disaster occurred, about 40 girls, aged 8 to 16, were in the three-story building, Aydin stated. The blast took place around 4.15 local time, the Associated Press reported.

While ambulances hurried to arrive to the hospital, rescue workers were struggling with the rubble, making efforts to save the trapped victims of the collapse. They weren’t able to determine how many people were under the wreckage, said Taskent mayor Abdulbaki Acet. News reports showed the rescue teams while hunting for survivors.

According to the governor, the emergency teams had been dispatched from Ankara.