Australia sends prayers and rescue personnel to Turkish earthquake zone

Muslim worshippers gathered to commemorate those who died in the Turkey-Syrian earthquakes, as Australian search and rescue personnel prepare to touch down in Turkey on Saturday.

Afghani-born Amin Shoaib and grandson Isaac, 4, at the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque in Auburn in Sydney's wes. Picture: Britta Campion/The Australian

A contingent of 72 Australian search and rescue personnel is expected to touch down in Turkey on Saturday, after Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed one of the three Australians unaccounted for in the earthquake disaster had been found alive.

On Friday, Senator Wong said two other Australians remained missing after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, on Monday, and triggered a series of devastating aftershocks.

Fire and Rescue NSW personnel, along with Australia Assists personnel and various other emergency service personal, board a C-17A Globemaster III at RAAF Base Richmond, Sydney, as they prepare for deployment to the earthquake zone in Turkey. Picture: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi/ Pool via NCA NewsWire

The body of Sydney man Can Pahali was recovered from the rubble on Thursday after his family travelled to Turkey to search for him.

“I am pleased I can say one of those Australians in the region is accounted for and safe,” she said.

“One person has been reported as having died in these earthquakes … I extend my condol­ences … sympathy and support.”

At Auburn Gallipoli Mosque in Sydney’s west on Friday, more than 1000 Muslim worshippers gathered for Friday Prayer, which began with speeches of condolence from politicians and local officials and ended with a special funeral prayer for the thousands of people killed in the earthquake.

Auburn local Tener Tulpar, who attended the Friday Prayer service to pay tribute to the dead, carried a photo of his old friend who recently visited the Kahramanmaras and was caught up during the earthquakes.

Friday Prayers at the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque, with the sermon on the Kahramanmaras earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Picture: Britta Campion/The Australian

“When I saw the news, a vision of him hopped into my head. I contacted him on WhatsApp and there was no answer. But finally he replied and said he was safe.

“That is a lucky story,” Mr Tulpar said. “There is one man in our mosque, who does not wish to speak, who has lost seven family and friends.”

Amin Shoaib, who attended the Auburn Mosque with his four-year-old grandson, told The Australian it was important that everyone in the Muslim and Australian community showed their support. “I’m from Afghanistan, not Turkey. But it was important for me to come down for Friday Prayer to show solidarity with Turkey and Syria,” he said.

Among the politicians who attended Friday Prayer in Sydney’s West, NSW Labor leader Chris Minns and Employment Relations Minister Damien Tudehope spoke on behalf of their parties, while the federal member for Reid, Sally Sitou, represented the Albanese government.

Mr Tudehope told worshippers that the whole nation had been deeply moved by the “enormously heroic stories” that continued to emerge.

“There was a very poignant story of a man holding his deceased daughter’s hand in the rubble, and that is an image that will remain with many of us,” he said. “There was also the story of a child, whose mother passed away after giving birth, and was saved from the rubble days later.”

Ms Sitou said Australians were sharing the heartache of the Muslim community, encouraging people to donate generously to support the Turkish and Syrian communities hit by the disaster.

She also read a message from Anthony Albanese: “On behalf of all Australians, I extend my deepest condolences to those affected by the devastating earthquake in Turkey, Syria and neighbouring countries – this tragedy, so dreadful in scale, comes with a heartbreaking human cost,” he wrote, using the native name for Turkey.

Earlier in the week, the Prime Minister said the urban search and rescue team would provide specialist assistance before the end of the week, with highly trained personnel ready to locate and deliver medical assistance.

As of Friday night, the death toll had passed 22,000, with at least 18,400 dead in Turkey.