Five Indonesians Remain Unreachable after Turkey Quake

KOMPAS.com – Five Indonesian nationals, including two children, are still unreachable after the massive earthquake that killed thousands in Turkey and Syria on Monday, Feb. 6, KOMPAS.TV reported.

Indonesia’s Ambassador to Turkey Lalu Muhammad Iqbal said that the five people comprised a mother and her two children, as well as two people who work as spa therapists.

“Contact has not been established with a mother and her two children living in Antakya,” Iqbal told a virtual press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

He said the embassy had coordinated with local authorities and taken necessary action to locate their whereabouts.

Besides, he went on to add that two other Indonesian citizens who work as spa therapists in Diyarbakir are still unreachable, too.

Also read: 7.0-Magnitude Quake Hits Eastern Indonesia, Tsunami Warning Lifted

“In the Diyarbakir area, there are two spa therapist workers who still cannot be contacted.”

“They have not yet responded to their colleague’s messages through WhatsApp group,” he added.

The envoy said the embassy team would be deployed to evacuate the Indonesian citizens living in Diyarbakir.

At the time of publication, 10 Indonesians were injured following the 7.8-magnitude quake. Of the number, four people are still receiving treatment at the hospital, while six others are being evacuated to Ankara.

Iqbal also said that three Indonesians living in Hatay province are suffering from broken bones.

“In Hatay, there are nine Indonesians, three of whom are suffering from broken bones, including one person suffering from broken bones in the back,” the ambassador said.

Meanwhile, six others are reportedly wounded in Hatay.

Eleven vehicles, comprising ambulances, cars, and buses have been deployed to evacuate the Indonesian citizens affected by the quake.

Also read: 6.2-Magnitude Quake Hits Off Indonesias Sumatra: USGS

He said dozens of the citizens, mostly Indonesian students, need to be evacuated to Ankara because their houses were destroyed by the quake and the health facilities in the affected areas can no longer accommodate those who are injured.

Iqbal said that Indonesian citizens live in different places across Turkey. In Gaziantep city, 40 citizens need to be evacuated to Ankara.

"These 40 people are our citizens whose houses have been destroyed," he said.

"Currently they live in mosques, in sports stadiums, and so on. We have contacted and asked them to meet at a designated place and we will pick them up from there," said Iqbal.

In addition, only 40 out of 140 Indonesians living in Kahramanmaras city will be evacuated because the other 100 Indonesians have been accommodated in a Turkish safe house.

“These 40 Indonesians [who will be evacuated] are currently staying in tents in the field, where they cannot withstand cold weather. Therefore, we decided to evacuate them.”

The quake can affect 23 million people

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that up to 23 million people could be affected by the quake in Turkey and Syria, promising long-term assistance.

"Event overview maps show that potentially 23 million people are exposed, including around five million vulnerable populations," the World Health Organization's senior emergencies officer Adelheid Marschang said on Tuesday, Feb. 7 in Geneva, according to AFP.

"Civilian infrastructure and potentially health infrastructure have been damaged across the affected region, mainly in Turkey and northwest Syria," she said.

The WHO "considers that the main unmet needs may be in Syria in the immediate and mid-term," Marschang told the WHO's executive committee in Geneva.

She spoke as rescuers in Turkey and Syria braved cold, aftershocks and collapsing buildings, as they dug for survivors buried by a string of earthquakes that killed more than 5,000 people.

"It is now a race against time," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, explaining that the UN health agency was urgently sending aid to the area.

"We're mobilizing emergency supplies and we have activated the WHO network of emergency medical teams to provide essential health care for the injured and most vulnerable."

Source: KOMPAS.TV, AFP