Bengaluru man on business trip to Turkey missing, 10 others stuck in remote parts
1 min read . Updated: 08 Feb 2023, 10:19 PM IST
Premium- The Bengaluru man has not been traced for the past two days since a massive earthquake hit Turkey, flattening infrastructure across parts of the country
One Indian man, who was on a business trip to Turkey, has been reported missing, while 10 others are stuck in remote parts of the country but safe, officials said on Wednesday. Secretary (West) Sanjay Verma of the External Affairs Ministry said the man has not been traced for the past two days since a massive earthquake of 7.8 hit Turkey, flattening infrastructure across parts of the country.
Meanwhile, under Operation Dost, Delhi is prepared to send more rescue teams and relief materials to the earthquake-affected regions. So far, India dispatched 101 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, a 99-person field hospital team, and 130 tons of equipment and aid to Turkey via four C-17 heavy-lift aircraft.
The teams would largely focus on rescue missions who are still stuck under the debris.
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Another flight, carrying 51 NDRF personnel, sniffer dogs, and four vehicles, will depart for Turkey on Wednesday. Medical supplies and equipment, too, have been sent to Syria.
On the missing Indian, Sanjay Verma said, “We have one Indian national missing who was on a business visit to… a place called Malatya and he has not been traced for the last two days. We are in touch with his family and the company in Bengaluru which employs him."
“There are 10 individuals who are stuck in some remote parts of the affected areas but they are safe...We don’t have any other reports at this point of time which suggests that the Indian community in that part of Turkey is [in] any fatal danger," he said.
The Indian embassy in Ankara has received calls from 75 Indians and three Indian nationals have been moved to a safer place.
The catastrophic earthquake that razed thousands of buildings in Turkey and Syria became one of the deadliest quakes worldwide in more than a decade Wednesday and the death toll kept rising, surpassing 11,000. Rescue crews braved freezing overnight temperatures in quake-hit areas in both countries in hope of reaching survivors and pulling more bodies from the rubble.
