Turkish FM: No reports of casualties among Turks in Japan

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that there were no immediate reports of casualties among Turkish citizens in Japan following Friday's massive earthquake, Anadolu News Agency reported.

Davutoglu said that a special unit would be established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to follow the developments. "Japan faced a massive disaster. Although it is an industrialized country, we are ready to do our utmost to assist Japanese authorities. I am going to call the foreign minister of Japan today to offer our assistance," he said at a joint press conference with UN Development Program Administrator Helen Clark.

He said that there were no immediate reports of casualties among Turkish people in Japan and the quake did not cause any damage in the embassy building.

A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 hit Japan's north-east coast. The quake's epicentre is thought to have been 20 km below the ocean off Miyagi prefecture. It shook buildings in the capital Tokyo, some 300 km away. The quake unleashed a 4-meter tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake are still burning out of control up and down the coast, including one at an oil refinery.


/Trend/