Ugandan National Confirmed Among The Dead In Turkey Huge Earthquake

A Ugandan national identified as Florence Babirye was discovered among the dead bodies of the victims of the deadly earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday last week.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, Babirye’s body was recovered from the rubble of the building where she stayed.

“Babirye was unfortunately discovered dead in Hatay province, one of the badly affected areas,” the statement said.

The deceased lived in Hatay Province where BBC last week reported that rescue efforts had in some places been disrupted due to clashes between unnamed groups.

German rescuers and the Austrian army are said to have paused the search operations in the area and this could have exacerbated the situation as hopes of finding more survivors continued to fade.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs further added that efforts are underway to work with authorities in Turkey to have the body of Babirye which had already been buried, exhumed and repatriated back home to be accorded a decent burial by relatives in Lwengo district where she hailed from.

“The family of the deceased has been duly contacted and informed.”

The ministry also revealed that another Ugandan who sustained injuries during the earthquake is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in the city of Malatya and is “responding well.”

The Ugandan government also noted that through the embassy in Ankara, they are working with authorities in Turkey to offer consular and any other necessary support to Ugandans in the country hit by the quake.

“A total of 16 Ugandan nationals residing in Hatay and Malatya have been identified and contacted,” the ministry said.

The ministry urged Ugandans in Turkey to reach out to the embassy in Ankara on ­ +905396440840 or  +905313468102 for required consular support.

The United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths on Monday said the Turkey and Syria earthquake rescue phase is nearing an end, with efforts now set to turn more towards recovery.

The two powerful earthquakes that struck border regions of the two countries last Monday have killed at least 37,000, with the UN expecting the number to rise to more than 50,000.

Griffiths, who made the comments during a visit to the devastated northern Syrian city of Aleppo, said the disaster response was reaching a turning point.

“The rescue phase is dragging live people out from the rubble and finding those who died in the rubble… that’s coming to a close,” he said. “Now the humanitarian phase, the urgency of providing shelter, psychosocial care, food, schooling, and a sense of the future for these people, that’s our obligation now.”