A building was reduced to rubble in Türkiye following a strong 7.8 magnitude quake on Monday. (Anadolu photo)
MANILA – A Filipina who was presumed dead in the Turkish province of Hatay was found alive days after a 7.7-magnitude hit the country, a Filipino community leader reported Thursday.
“Isang kababayan po ang na-recover na napabalita po noong una, kinonfirm po noong amo na patay na pero na-recover siya buhay po (One compatriot of ours has been found alive and recovered after being confirmed dead by her employer earlier),” Cherry Santos, president of the Filipino community in Ankara, said in a DZMM interview.
Citing information from their network of Filipinos in the affected areas, Santos said the Filipina was inside a building in Hatay when the temblor reduced structures to rubbles in 10 Türkiye provinces last Monday.
She was with three other Filipinos who Santos has no information about as of posting.
“(A)ng info na nakuha namin mga three to four (ang missing), nakuha na ‘yong isa. Nasa isang building lang sila (According to our info, three to four are missing, and we have found one. They were in one building),” Santos said.
‘Will act swiftly’
As of Feb. 9, a team from the Philippine Embassy in Ankara is already in Adana and the city of İskenderun in Hatay to provide all possible aid, including food, blankets, water, and cash.
The embassy said Thursday it continues to receive a “steady stream of confirmed and unconfirmed” reports of affected Filipinos and would act swiftly on these calls.
In Adana, the embassy team led by no less than Ambassador Maria Elena Algabre has evacuated four nationals to a safer location in the city of Mersin.
“We are thankful that a number of our kababayan (compatriots) are safe and we will not give up hope for those that cannot yet be contacted. The Embassy will act swiftly and decisively for all confirmed reports,” the embassy said in a statement.
It urged distressed nationals to contact its hotline via telephone or WhatsApp at +905345772344 or via email at [email protected] and Facebook.
More than 13 million persons in Türkiye and Syria were impacted by the massive earthquake, with a multitude of people still trapped under the rubble.
The death toll in affected areas is also climbing by the hour and has reached more than 11,000, based on United Nations figures.
The UN said more than 40 urban search and rescue teams from Türkiye and 19 countries, with about 80,000 responders and 160 search dogs, have been mobilized as of Feb. 8.
On Wednesday night, the 85-member Philippine humanitarian contingent for Türkiye departed Manila via a Turkish Airlines flight to join the response efforts.
The team is composed of personnel from the Office of Civil Defense, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, and Department of Health. (PNA)
