Turkey earthquake: All Ghanaians accounted for, set for evacuation - Ambassador

Ghanaians in the affected areas of Turkey’s February 6, 2023 earthquake will be evacuated in the coming days, Mrs Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, Ghana's Ambassador to Turkey has said.

“Our compatriots in the disaster areas are mostly students and not many. They've all been accounted for and we will evacuate them in the coming days," she told Ghana News Agency in an interview on Tuesday.

Ghana's formal statement on the incident was via a presidential tweet hours after the disaster struck.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said: "On behalf of the Government and people of Ghana, I extend heartfelt condolences to the Governments and peoples of Turkey and Syria on the devastation and the tragic loss of lives occasioned by Monday’s earthquake.

"May their souls rest in perfect peace. Our hearts and prayers go out to the survivors, and we pray that our fellow Ghanaian, Christian Atsu, is found safe and sound," his second tweet accompanied by a photo of Atsu read.

The former Black Stars player was rescued alive early Tuesday morning after spending an estimated 26 hours under the rubble in Hatay, one of the cities most hit by the earthquake.

At the time of filing this report, official estimates showed that over 7,000 deaths had been recorded with many more reported injured even as global assistance pours in to support Turkey with recovery efforts.

SARA