148 TN athletes stranded in Turkey after military coup attempt, seek help
Chennai: A Tamil Nadu girl athlete who has gone to Turkey to participate in the world school games meet there has sent a Whatsapp video stating that all of them are safe and sought government help to ensure that the entire contingent comes back without any harm.
"We are safe here. There is no problem here in Trabzon (northeastern Turkey)," Tamizhselvi, one of over 10 athletes from Tamil Nadu in the contingent said in a Whatsapp video.
They are part of a larger contingent of 148 Indian athletes participating in the World School Games, amid a failed military coup in that country that claimed more than 250 lives.
She said they came to know of the coup attempt only after a parent who had watched the news on TV called them on phone this morning.
Tamizhselvi said the athletes had no idea if the rest of the games would be held as scheduled and said that as per their itinerary, they were scheduled to start back home from Trabzon on July 18 and reach Istanbul via Ankara.
Since these cities had seen violence over the attempted coup, she urged the Centre should take steps to ensure that the athletes reached home safe.
Her father Venkatesan too appealed to the government to ensure the safety of the children.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had tweeted, "There are 148 Indian children and 38 officials in Trapzon #Turkey. They are all safe. The games are on. They will start returning in batches from 18th July."
There are 148 Indian children and 38 officials in Trapzon #Turkey. They are all safe. /1 https://t.co/WiykZXnL1M
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 16, 2016
The games are on. They will start returning in batches from 18th July. /2 #Turkey
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 16, 2016
Earlier in the day, Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel said that all the Indian athletes participating in the World School Games at Trabzon in Turkey are safe.
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared he is in control of the country today as loyal military and police forces quashed a coup attempt during a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire.
Erdogan, who flew home early today, said coup supporters "will pay a heavy price for their treason to Turkey".
The chaos capped a period of political turmoil in Turkey which critics blamed on Mr Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian rule, which has included a government shake-up, a crackdown on dissidents and opposition media and renewed conflict in the mainly Kurdish areas of the southeast.
