GOAL, the Irish-based international humanitarian organisation, with long-term operations in Southern Turkey and NW Syria has confirmed 26 GOAL colleagues have lost their lives in the Turkey-Syria earthquake.
The earthquake struck the region last Monday and more than 20,500 people are confirmed to have died in the 7.8 magnitude quake.
Goal says Teams are still working around the clock to account for a number of staff still unaccounted for while also supporting the overall search and rescue mission.
“To say it has been a profoundly difficult week for the GOAL Teams in Türkiye and Syria cannot be overstated.
“Because of the sheer geography of destruction, and GOAL’s long-term presence in the communities so severely impacted, the scale of loss is far beyond anything we could have ever imagined” says CEO, Siobhan Walsh.
GOAL staff across the region have also lost family members, sustained life-altering injuries, and lost their homes.
Meanwhile, as part of GOAL’s humanitarian response to support communities most affected by the earthquake, teams in Türkiye and Syria have mobilised responses to assess needs on the ground, whilst prioritising the immediate restarting of key humanitarian aid programmes that deliver shelter, access to food, clean water and health and social support.
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