The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students in Turkey, Olasupo Caleb, has said some Nigerian students were affected by the earthquake which affected the transcontinental country.
Saturday PUNCH reports that a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the country on Monday, which according to reports brought down whole apartment blocks in Turkish cities and plied more devastation on millions of Syrians.
The death toll from the earthquake of Turkey and Syria later rose above 23,000.
Caleb told one of our correspondents that the Nigerian embassy was working towards helping students who were awaiting evacuation.
He said, “Regarding the catastrophic earthquake that happened recently, the union got in touch with some students in Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Adana and Sanliurfa provinces in Turkey.
“According to those spoken with so far, although some Nigerian students were affected, no injury or death was recorded among Nigerian students.
“We’ve reached out to the Nigerian Embassy in Turkey for assistance to evacuate Nigerian students in the provinces and the Embassy has given their full support to evacuate students in the affected areas.”
He explained that the embassy could not reach the affected area because only aid teams and vehicles carrying aid materials were allowed to enter the affected provinces.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Embassy in Turkey has said rescue efforts are preventing consular assistance to Nigerians affected by the earthquakes in the country.
In a statement signed by the Second Secretary (Consular Affairs), Mohammed Khalilu, and made available to our correspondent on Friday, the embassy said no Nigerian was among the dead or injured.
The Turkish government was said to have provided shelter for all displaced persons, including Nigerians.
