Turkish embassy: no casualties among Turks in quake-hit Indonesia

The statement was released after the first quake hit the region. An aftershock of almost the same magnitude followed a few hours later. The embassy added that the epicenter of the initial earthquake, which occurred at 3:38 p.m. local time on Wednesday, was 500 kilometers away from Banda Aceh province. Tamer Sertkan, principal of Turkish Fatih High School in Banda Aceh, said children were at the school during the quake, but apart from minor damage to the school building, everything is fine. “We could not leave the school building right away as aftershocks, which were so strong that we could not even stand, continued for some time. But then we rushed to take the children to their homes,” the principal said. Meanwhile, the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) announced that it has organized a team to determine the basic needs of the quake victims and to oversee the delivery of aid to the region.