Members of the Zeytinburnu Municipality Search and Rescue Team (ZAK) comfort themselves by the rubble of collapsed buildings in Nurdagi, near Gaziantep, on Feb. 13, 2023, as rescue teams began to wind down the search for survivors, a week after an earthquake devastated parts of Turkey and Syria leaving more than 35,000 dead and millions in dire need of aid. (Photo by ZEIN AL RIFAI / Agence France-Presse)
MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino woman and her three children remain missing following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.
The woman, who is married to a Turkish national, is believed to have been trapped with her children inside their house since the quake struck on Feb. 6, according to Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega. Her husband was not at home at that time.
“Their building collapsed and they are still trying to rescue them,” De Vega said during the Laging Handa briefing. He added that there were 248 Filipinos in quake-affected areas in Turkey and that 64 others who had lost their homes were brought to Ankara for their own safety.
In Syria, which was also struck by the quake, 60 Filipinos were affected although there were no casualties.
2 Pinoys killed
So far, only two Filipinos have been killed by the quake in Turkey, De Vega said, both of them married to Turkish nationals. While one of the victims has been buried in Turkey, the body of the other will be repatriated to the Philippines.
As of Tuesday, more than 36,000 have been killed by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. In the lower house, lawmakers have approved a resolution expressing their sympathies to the victims.
“Along with the rest of the world, the House of Representatives commiserates with those affected by the recent earthquakes in Syria and Turkey and hopes for healing and restoration as they rise from the rubble of this horrifying catastrophe,” they said in Resolution No. 736.
House resolution
A copy of the resolution will be given to the Consulate of the Syrian Arab Republic and the Embassy of Turkey in Manila.
On Monday, House Speaker Martin Romualdez turned over to Turkish Ambassador to the Philippines Niyazi Evren Akyol and his wife Inddri Puspitarasi $100,000 in financial aid to quake victims. Romualdez said that Turkey was among the first countries who sent help when Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) hit parts of the Philippines, particularly Leyte, in 2013.
“The assistance extended by Turkey, the United States and our allies and friends abroad helped ease the pain and suffering of our people.” he added.