ALBAWABA - Lebanese novelist and activist Dalal Zeineddine and her three sons and grandson were killed in Hatay’s Antakya as a result of the powerful earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria.
Zeineddine was married to a Syrian. The couple moved to Turkey in the wake of the Syrian revolt, Naharnet pointed out.
A Lebanese man and his son were found alive on Tuesday under the rubble of their house in Antakya, southern Turkey, an area hit hard by Monday's deadly earthquake, Lebanese ambassador to Turkey Ghassan Moallem told @LOrientLeJour. @raphael_abd reports: https://t.co/OT6rXB46md
— L'Orient Today (@lorienttoday) February 7, 2023
No figures were immediately available on the number of foreign nationals who were present in the area at the time of the tremor.
On Tuesday, a Palestinian official said at least 50 countrymen were killed in the earthquake in Turkey.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese Embassy in Turkey said there are at least five Lebanese who remain trapped under the rubble. Lebanese Ambassador to Turkey Ghassan Mouallem said he and his team are coordinating on the matter with the Turkish authorities.
In a call with Megaphone, Lebanese ambassador to Ankara, #GhassanAlMuallem, said that 5 #Lebanese nationals are trapped under the rubble in the Turkish city of #Antakya.
— Megaphone (@megaphone_news) February 7, 2023
3/5
The social media was rife with tweets on the missing Lebanese, with some saying seven were killed in the deadly quake that hit the southern part of the country and its aftershocks, which experts predict will continue.
Rescuing the Lebanese Muhammad Shamma and his child after the devastating earthquake
— Chirine Abdallah 🇱🇧👑 (@chirineabdallah) February 7, 2023
The Lebanese Muhammad Shamma was pulled out from under the rubble in the Antakia region - Turkey. His brother told Bint Jbeil website that his child is also in good health#Turkey #Antakia pic.twitter.com/rregIMu7dO
As of Tuesday, Mouallem explained in an interview with "Voice of All Lebanon" that rescue teams have not reached the area where the missing Lebanese are believed to be trapped due to a large area of destruction which cut off roads and hampered relief efforts, according to Akhbar Al Youm.
5 Lebanese trapped under the rubble in Turkey!https://t.co/AvEQXtaJpo#AkhbarAlYawm #أخبار_اليوم
— Akhbar Al Yawm (@akhbaralyawm) February 7, 2023
Meanwhile, three Lebanese were reported killed in Syria, where the same quake struck the northern part of the country near the Turkish border.
The Lebanese Embassy in Damascus said another Lebanese family was rescued in the Aleppo.
The embassy said Lebanese basketball coach Ghassan Sarkis, who was in an area affected by the quake, escaped unharmed.
"There were moments of terror when the earthquake happened," Sarkis said.
"Huge aid is arriving in Turkey, while no one is remembering Syria. This is saddening," he added, referring to the western sanctions that hampered the flow of humanitarian relief into Syria.
Seven #Lebanese nationals have died so far in the devastating #earthquake that hit #Turkey and #Syria. They are Dalal Zeineddine, Wissam and Nadwa al-Asaad, and Suzanne Shamma in Turkey, and Selina and Sawsan al-Haddam and Father Imad Daher in Syria.
— Megaphone (@megaphone_news) February 7, 2023
1/5 https://t.co/lI4UcbhVon
