A secondary school on the southside of Cork city has confirmed that a group of students and staff members on a trip to Turkey are safe and well after an earthquake struck Malatya, a city which they were due to visit.
Students from Coláiste Éamon Rís, on St Patrick's Road in Turner's Cross, were on a stopover in Istanbul and had not commenced their journey to Malatya when an earthquake hit the city.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Monday has resulted in the death of more than 2,300 people in eastern Turkey and northern Syria.
READ MORE - Turkey earthquake: More than 600 killed as powerful quake hits Turkey and Syria
In a statement Coláiste Éamon Rís said that their thoughts are prayers were with all those impacted by the tragedy.
"Our staff and students in Turkey are all fine," school officials confirmed. "The earthquake has struck their destination of Malatya but, thankfully, they had stopped in Istanbul and had not reached their (partner) school yet.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have lost their lives and homes."
At the time of writing Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has revealed that 912 people have already been confirmed to have been killed whilst 5,383 were injured following the earthquake. In Syria the heath ministry indicated that 1,042 people were injured and 326 people had been killed. In the Syrian rebel-held north-west, rescuers indicate that 147 people had died.
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