473 Turks died from COVID-19 abroad: FM Çavuşoğlu

Some 473 Turkish citizens abroad passed away from the coronavirus, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said, informing that more than 65,000 Turks from 103 countries have been brought back to Turkey since the pandemic hit the world.

"Unfortunately, our 473 citizens who were living abroad passed away from the COVID-19 outbreak. More than 350 of them were taken to Turkey for their funerals. The procedures for the rest are underway," Çavuşoğlu told reporters on May 5, while informing about the pandemic-related works of the ministry.

The minister recalled that a coordination and a call center was established at the ministry in order to respond to the demands of the Turkish citizens across the world, from Europe to Africa, from Asia to Latin America.

"We have so far evacuated more than 65,000 people from 103 countries. Our efforts to bring back our citizens will continue in the coming days," he said, recalling that more Turks wanted to return home for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. He informed that a plane to take off from Brazil's Sau Paulo will bring Turkish citizens who were stranded in different parts of Latin America.

"A Turkish citizen in Bolivia, suffering from a kidney disease, wanted to return to Turkey. Our ambassador in La Paz sent his own car to pick up our citizen who was living around eight hours from the capital city. He will also be on board from Sau Paulo to Turkey where he will be entrusted to our Health Ministry," he said.

All these show that Turkey always comes to the aid of its citizens wherever they are in the world, he stated.

The minister also said Turkey will continue to pledge medical supplies to the countries in need as part of its humanitarian diplomacy approach.