No fewer than 2,300 people have been killed in the twin earthquakes that occurred along the Turkey and Syria border in the early hours of Monday.
The Financial Secretary of the community, Taofik Amuni, in an interview with the Punch on Tuesday noted that the community was still awaiting the total number of Nigerians displaced by the incident.
“The incidence happened yesterday and no Nigerian has lost their life. We are yet to, however, ascertain the number of Nigerians who might have been displaced.
“From the news we gathered, just one Ghanaian footballer was said to have been missing with his Turkish friend. For now we are just hearing figures of people who have died in the earthquake and the injured one also the ones that are still in the wreckage.”
Also speaking, the Vice President of the Nigerian Community in Turkey, Enifoma Ubogu said, although there was information that some Africans might have been affected by the earthquake in Turkey, there had been no information yet about any Nigerian casualty.
He said: “Yes, it’s a very sad one here in Turkey. The earthquake really destroyed things. We have information that some Africans might have been affected, but we don’t know directly if there was any Nigerian affected at this moment.
“Another thing is that most of the Nigerians live in Istanbul and other parts. Hatay is a place where Africans live as well and it was affected, but we have no independent confirmation whether there’s any Nigerian that has been badly affected by the earthquake.
But just for your information, as a community here, we are trying to organise to see how we can send help as well. We are planning to send as many as 20 able-bodied men to help in recovery efforts with the Turkish authorities.
“Turkey is located in the earthquake zone, and so, it’s a common occurrence here. Before now, there have been quite number of tremors, even in Istanbul. Personally, I have experienced it, you just feel the house shaking, like somebody is trying to remove the carpet under your leg. So, everybody knows that this is a possibility in Turkey and unfortunately, there is really no remedy against these natural events. It is just for us to be prayerful and spiritual.
“At the moment, it’s not in Istanbul and most of the Nigerians are in Istanbul.”
