The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (MFAEI) confirmed the death of three Moldovans in Hatay Province of Turkey: a woman aged 36 and two minors who are members of the same family, IPN reports.

“Since February 7 until now, representatives of the Embassy have made effort to contact 48 persons from the list of those living in the hit areas (by quakes). Out of these, 17 Moldovan citizens reported that they are safe, four persons asked for specialized consular assistance, while in the case of 27 persons, the efforts to establish communication with the diplomatic mission continue,” said the spokesman for the Ministry Daniel Vodă.

Through the agency of Moldova’s Embassy in Bucharest, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, the MFAEI informs that two Moldovans who have dual nationality asked for assistance for being repatriated from the Turkish city of Malatya to Bucharest. These are medical students who went to Turkey through the Erasmus program. The evacuation operation was performed by the Romanian side.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration noted that the telephone line for consular emergencies of Moldova’s Embassy in Ankara works on a permanent basis, as does the Ministry’s Call Center in Moldova. The telephone line for consular emergencies is: +90 541 687 21 04.

In the morning of February 8, the team of Moldovan rescuers entered Turkey. Officials of the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Turkey (AFAD) directed the Moldovan rescuers to Hatay Province that borders Syria. The destination is to be reached this evening.

The death toll from the quakes that struck Turkey and Syria has grown to over 9,500 and is expected to rise further.