PETALING JAYA: The government is trying to evacuate 13 Malaysian citizens who are stranded in Turkey due to the earthquake, says deputy foreign minister Mohamad Alamin.
NST reported that the ministry was getting the latest information on those stranded from the Malaysian embassy in Ankara and the consulate-general in Istanbul.
“The Malaysian embassy in Ankara will continue its efforts to bring out the stranded Malaysians and we hope that their family members in Malaysia will not worry about their situation.
“The foreign ministry will channel information from time to time,” he told reporters after sending off an aid mission by the Malaysia Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (Mapim) in KLIA.
Alamin said the 13 who were stranded worked in various sectors and were safe, but it was difficult to evacuate them due to limited communication services.
He urged them to remain patient and to continue keeping in touch with the Malaysian embassy in Turkey.
A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday.
The quake, which was centred in Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, sent residents of Damascus and Beirut rushing onto the street and was felt as far away as Cairo.
