The monarch, 74, toured Syria’s House on Tuesday – a community tent which will be open for a week in Trafalgar Square where Syrians will be able to pay their respects to lost relatives and organize vigils at the centre.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake and a later a 7.5 quake, which both struck on 6 February, have claimed the lives of more than 35,000 people in south-eastern Turkey and Syria, with the death toll expect to rise as buildings are finally cleared.
At Syria’ House, the King spoke to Salah Al-Asmar, a Syrian architect based in the UK, who lost his parents, brother, sister-in-law and nephew in the earthquake in Antakya, Turkey.
Mr Al-Asmar said afterwards: “For seven days, my family were under the rubble. There was no rescue team. No-one could support them in this moment. I haven’t been able to sleep for days.”
Yazan Douedari, who was invited to the event through friends, told the PA news agency: “The King was showing his support and was saying ‘I can’t imagine how hard it has been for you’. He said, ‘It is terrible’. I saw that he was emotionally affected.
Earlier in the day, Charles also met volunteers who have been collecting, packaging and organising the transportation of food, blankets, and warm clothing for people affected by the earthquakes in Turkey.
Umit Yalcin, Turkey’s ambassador to the UK, joined the head of state when he visited the makeshift depot organised by the West London Turkish Volunteers based in Hounslow.
The diplomat said about the King: “He said he was deeply sorry, deeply sad, and he will pray for Turkey, for Syria and the people under that devastating earthquake.
The King’s public visits come after he sent his “thoughts and prayers” to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a moving message.
With the efforts of the authorities and NGOs now turning towards recovery and relief, the British public have helped the Disasters Emergency Committee Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal raise more than £74 million in a few days – including donations from the King and Queen Consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
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