Two Keralites are among those who survived the deadly earthquake in Turkey's Kahramanmaraş. Ajmal, a student in the city and Farooq, a businessman had rushed out in the nick of time after hearing a warning siren.
While Farooq flew to Istanbul on Wednesday through the free flight service in quake-affected regions, Ajmal will fly out only on Sunday.
Mohammed Azeer, a research student from Istanbul, informed Manorama News about the duo. Both Farooq and Ajmal will stay with Azeer in Istanbul.
Turkish government had conducted a mockdrill excercise for earthquake in December, Azeer said.
10 Indians stuck in Turkey, 1 missing
There are at least 10 Indians stuck in the earthquake-affected areas of Turkey while one is missing, informed the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday.
Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs said so far no Indian national has died in the disaster that has claimed over 12,000 lives in Turkey and Syria.
"We don't have any other reports that suggest the Indian community in Turkey is in fatal danger," said Sanjay Varma in a video message. He said that 10 individuals who are reportedly "stuck in remote parts of affected areas" are safe.
There are about 3,000 Indian nationals in Turkey, of whom 1,850 were in Istanbul, 250 in Ankara and the rest in other cities.
"We received calls from 75 persons asking the Embassy for assistance," said Varma.
The missing Indian was on a business trip to Malatya in the eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. "He has not been traced for the last two days. We're in touch with his family and company in Bengaluru that employs him," said the official.
The embassy officials said due to inclement weather communication remains patchy.
