On the morning of February 12, 39 Russian citizens were evacuated from the earthquake zone in the southeast of Turkey, who wanted to return to their homeland. The Russian Embassy in Ankara announced this on its Telegram channel.
It is noted that we are talking about Russians who lived and worked in the immediate vicinity of the earthquake zone, and wished to return to the Russian Federation. The aircraft for their evacuation was provided by Rosatom. He took off from Adana airport on Sunday morning.
The collection and dispatch of Russians was organized by employees of the embassy and the consulate general in Antalya, the report says.
Earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 occurred on February 6 in the province of Kahramanmaras in southeastern Turkey near the border with Syria. At the same time, according to the latest data, 24,617 people died as a result of the disaster in Turkey, more than 80 thousand were injured.
In particular, the victims of the earthquake, according to preliminary data, were a family from Moscow – a husband and wife and two children aged 2.5 and 4 years. On February 10, rescuers found the bodies of a woman and a child. Then the body of a man was found, presumably the husband and father of the previously found Russians. The body of the second child was later discovered.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths admitted that the death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria would exceed 40,000.
Turkey has declared national mourning until February 12.