President Nana Addo Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed his sympathies to the people of Turkey following a second massive earthquake, hours after an earlier catastrophic quake devastated the region l Monday.
At least 1,600 people have reportedly lost their lives in the 7.8-magnitude night-time tremor, which was followed hours later by a slightly smaller one, wiped out entire sections of major Turkish cities in a region filled with millions of people who have fled the civil war in Syria and other conflicts.
The later 7.5 magnitude quake struck at 1.24pm (1024 GMT) two-and-a-half miles southeast of the town of Ekinozu and around 60 miles north of the first quake that has wrought devastation across Turkey and Syria.
Hundreds are still believed to be trapped under rubble on both sides of the border as a result of the first, and the toll is expected to rise as rescue workers continue to search through mounds of wreckage for families crushed in their sleep.
Orhan Tatar, an official from the Turkish disaster agency, told reporters that the two quakes were independent of each other.
He said hundreds of aftershocks were expected after both. Tremors were felt as far away as Greenland.
Following the unfortunate incident, President Akufo-Addo on behalf of the Government and people of Ghana extended his heartfelt condolences to the Governments and peoples of Turkey and Syria.
“May their souls rest in perfect peace,” he said.
He further prayed for the survivors, praying that national team footballer, Christian Atsu who is part of the victim who have reportedly missing in Turkey where he plys his trade.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the survivors, and we pray that our fellow Ghanaian, Christian Atsu, is found safe and sound,” President Akufo-Addo prays in a post shared on his social media handle.
Meanwhile, rescue workers are desperately searching for survivors after the earthquakes struck across the region.
By Vincent Kubi