Georgian citizen killed in Turkey quake - foreign office

The Ministry said the Georgian diplomatic mission in Turkey was “in contact” with the family members of the deceased and relevant agencies of Turkey. Photo: Anadolu Agency

Agenda.ge, 06 Feb 2023 - 15:58, Tbilisi,Georgia

A Georgian citizen is among those killed in the major earthquake in Turkey on Monday, the Georgian Foreign Ministry has confirmed. 

The Ministry said the Georgian diplomatic mission in Turkey was “in contact” with the family members of the deceased and relevant agencies of Turkey.

The Georgian Embassy in Turkey received information about the death of a Georgian citizen in the city of Antakya [the southernmost province of Turkey] as a result of the earthquake”, the statement said.

Earlier during the day, the Ministry opened hotline numbers for Georgian citizens in Turkey following the deadly, 7.9-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 912 in the country’s south. 

The earthquake struck just after 4 am local time on Monday, 23 kilometres east of Nurdağı, a city located in Gaziantep province near the Turkey-Syria border, with the shockwaves felt in several countries of the region.

Turkey's disaster agency said early on Monday 912 people had been killed and 2,400 injured, while a Syrian health official said more than 386 people had been killed and over 600 injured in the country.