The Thai government is offering to send assistance and a team to help with search and rescue efforts after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and its neighbour Syria.
As of press time, the death toll from the devastating earthquake had risen past 5,000, but the number was expected to climb further as rescue workers continued to dig through the rubble in search of survivors.
The massive earthquake, one of the largest to strike the quake-prone area in the past century, is raising fears of a new humanitarian crisis in a region strained by years of war, displacement and economic hardship.
Kanchana Patarachoke, foreign ministry spokeswoman and director-general of the Department of Information, said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has offered his condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai has also spoken to his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on the matter.
Gen Prayut said he was ready to provide aid based on humanitarian principles and urged the Foreign Ministry to cooperate with Turkey to send a rescue team should Ankara need one.
Ms Kanchana said as of yesterday, authorities have yet to receive reports of deaths and/or injuries among Thai citizens in the area, some of whom have relocated to temporary shelters.
Mr Don said the Royal Thai Embassy in Ankara has received a report about damages to a property owned by a Thai citizen, while three others have been safely located at a shelter away from the capital.
He urged Thais who were affected by the disaster to seek the embassy’s assistance.
The Ministry of Labour said 83 Thais are working in the country. Most are working as masseurs and chefs, Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin said.