Belgium's Foreign Affairs Ministry has announced that 15 Belgians living in Turkey and Syria are still missing following last week's earthquakes. So far, one Belgian has died among the 53,000 reported to have been killed, with the UN warning this figure could double.
After reports came out last Monday that two earthquakes had struck the bordering regions of Turkey and Syria, countries wanted to ensure the safety of their citizens on site. For Belgium, this meant coming into contact with the 230 Belgians in Turkey and 50 in Syria.
By Friday, the Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed that 24 Belgians were yet to be reached, a figure which went down to 15 on Sunday.
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Belgian consulates have been asked to check the last known addresses of those missing and to conduct a field investigation.
Local Belgian police are also trying to contact those with no news of their relatives in the region, with any concerned individual is being asked to contact the Foreign Affairs Ministry by phone on 02 501 81 11.
However, there will be no repatriation process put in place as the government believes that Belgians on-site have sufficient resources to return home on their own.
The Belgian Government sent medical aid and field hospitals to Turkey last week.
