Meanwhile, dozens of volunteers rushed to sort supplies, before packing and loading them into lorries that will eventually transport the goods to Changi Airport.
“Since yesterday and early this morning, volunteers have been coming in to help sort the items and it’s just crazy. When I came in today, I saw mountains of bags and donations,” said Ms Hayley Ridgwell, an employee of The Black Hole Group, which opened its space to receive donations on Thursday after the embassy became too packed.
“Although we’ve already said we’re not taking in any more donations, people still keep coming,” she added.
“It’s difficult to tell them ‘no’ because they already came all the way here and some of them really come with a van full of items and you just can’t say ‘no’ to that.”
Speaking to CNA, Mr Gonenli expressed appreciation for the “outstanding” support from Singaporeans but shared that the embassy’s capacity to sort the items is “quite limited”.