South Africa’s ambassador to Turkiye, Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, has confirmed that a prison where seven South Africans were detained collapsed during the deadly series of earthquakes that ripped through Turkey and Syria, reports EWN.
Letsatsi-Duba says her team is not aware of the extent of damage or how many South Africans have made it out alive.
The ambassador added that no other South Africans were reported to have been caught up in the quake, but the prison was a concern.
“We don’t have any people that are working in the area. We are told the prison has also collapsed but we don’t know as yet whether we have survivors or whether people are still trapped under the rubble. We are waiting, anxiously so, to receive information,” said Letsatsi-Duba.
According to News24, the humanitarian aid organization, the Gift of the Givers, said it would deploy its team to help with search-and-rescue efforts in Turkey. It said it expected the death toll in Turkey and Syria to increase as the search continued.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has, on behalf of the Government and people of South Africa, expressed his deep sadness at the large-scale loss of life and extent of injuries inflicted by an earthquake that has affected the nations of Türkiye and Syria. “Our nation and government are deeply saddened by the unthinkable loss of life in Turkiye and Syria. Our hearts go out to families who have lost loved ones or are searching for relatives and we wished injured survivors a full recovery,” said Ramaphosa.
At least 4,800 people had been killed and thousands more injured after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake. The World Health Organisation has warned that the death toll will likely increase as much as eight times, as rescuers find more victims in the rubble.