Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, South Africa’s ambassador to Turkey, revealed on Tuesday that a jail there that was housing seven South Africans collapsed following the country’s catastrophic series of earthquakes on Monday.
Their destiny, she claimed, was still unknown.
No other South Africans are believed to have been affected by the earthquake, the envoy added, but the jail is a worry.
“There aren’t any employees in the neighbourhood. Although we have been informed that the jail has also fallen, we are unsure if there are survivors or if anyone is still buried beneath the wreckage. With great anticipation, we await information, “Letsatsi-Duba remarked.
On Tuesday, official organizations in Turkey and Syria both reported that thousands more people had been injured in addition to the more than 5,000 verified deaths.
The World Health Organization has warned that as rescuers continue to search through mounds of wreckage in search of survivors, the death toll might reach as high as 20,000.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated, “Let’s work together in solidarity to assist all people touched by this calamity, many of whom were already in desperate need of humanitarian aid. The United Nations is mobilizing to support the emergency response.”
One of the nations coming together to help is South Africa.
From Tuesday forward, search and rescue teams as well as medical teams from the nonprofit organization Gift of the Givers were anticipated to leave for the disaster-stricken area. Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman, the organization’s founder, claimed that “we will work in conjunction with the Turkish government and other teams that are coming from across the world.”
“If necessary, we will buy supplies in Turkey, such as cans, blankets, food, medication, and other necessities for humanitarian aid. In light of this terrible incident, we extend our sympathies to the Turkish government and people. Sooliman stated that further deaths were anticipated as a result of the extreme cold in both nations. “The sum of the numbers will be very, very high. One of the biggest quakes they’ve ever experienced.
“People are going to be hypothermic if they are bleeding, caught up in the rubble. The weather is not going to give them a chance.”
In addition to sending his best wishes to the South African rescue crews, President Cyril Ramaphosa also offered his support to the victims of the tragedy.
According to Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, “Our people and administration are extremely pained by the unfathomable loss of life in Turkey and Syria.”
“We wish injured survivors a full recovery and our hearts go out to families who have lost loved ones or are looking for relatives,” the statement reads.
Countries all across the world are mobilizing to help both earthquake-affected countries.
In order to get crisis management teams to the impacted areas, Qatar said that it will begin conducting relief flights to Turkey.
The United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, Russia, and China have all committed to providing aid in the wake of the deadly earthquake, and more than ten rescue and medical teams from the European Union have already been mobilized.
The US asked nations to donate humanitarian relief and conducted a minute of silence in memory of the victims.