The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 7th that the whereabouts of one of the two Korean nationals who were out of contact after the earthquake struck Turkiye has been identified, but the other remains unconfirmed.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Su-seok said at a regular briefing that day, “One of our nationals (out of two) who was recently traveling to Hatay State lost contact, but it is now connected.”
After the earthquake, contact was lost, but resumed. It is known that the Korean nationals are international students attending a local university in Turkiye and are evacuating to a ‘safe area’ according to the guidance of the local diplomatic mission.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the location of the other person could not be identified, so the Korean diplomatic mission in the area is still trying to contact him.
On the 6th (local time), a 7.8-magnitude earthquake occurred in southeast Turkey, adjacent to the Syrian border, and more than 4,000 people have died so far in both Turkey and Syria.
Following the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a special travel advisory on the same day to six provinces in southeast Turkey, including Kahramanmaras and Hatay. A “special travel advisory” is a travel advisory issued to countries and regions with urgent short-term risks.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, although some Korean nationals staying in Turkiye were injured as a result of the earthquake, “it has been confirmed that they are not in a serious condition.”
However, spokesman Lim said, “There was property damage in areas such as Hatay where the earthquake occurred, where some buildings owned by our people collapsed.”
Spokesman Lim explained, “There are about 100 Koreans living in the earthquake-stricken area, but most of them live in areas with minor damage.”
Spokesman Lim added, “Our mission in the area is determining whether our citizens have been harmed, supporting the evacuation of Koreans, providing relief goods, and supporting their stay under the support of the Korean community.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.