Istanbul: As rescue and rehabilitation operations continued six days after multiple earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, thousands of people are fleeing affected cities and towns thanks to generous offers from airlines.
National carrier Turkish Airlines and low-cost airline Pegasus Airlines on Sunday announced free tickets for people in affected areas to travel to places like Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya, India Today reported.
College and university hostels, hotels and tourist resorts have been converted into temporary shelters for affected people.
Thousands of people from Gaziantep, Hatai, Nurdagi and Marash assembled at Gaziantep airport to leave for safer destinations.
Over 28,000 people have died and several thousand injured or displaced.
The first quake on February 6, which was felt near Gaziantep close to the Syrian border, measured 7.8 on Richter scale. The second one, of 7.6 magnitude, shook Turkey and Syria 9 hours later, followed by tremors of 6 and 6.5 strength.
An Indian national’s body was recovered on Saturday from under the debris of a hotel in Malatya.
