Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen had a telephone conversation yesterday (February 15, 2023) with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to express solidarity with the government and people of Turkey, and to assure of additional support. Momen conveyed to the Turkish foreign minister that Bangladesh is sending additional 10,000 tents, with the initial 2000, to Turkey for earthquake victims, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also requested his Turkish counterpart to let Bangladesh know if they need anything else, adding that Bangladesh wants to send construction workers for reconstruction efforts in the affected areas. Momen again expressed condolences for the loss of lives caused by the earthquakes and pledged support for Turkish people. Also read: Vinay Kwatra’s visit to add momentum to Dhaka-Delhi ties, India hopes “We are truly devastated by the scale of destruction and deaths. We express our wholehearted condolence and also, as your brother, we will try to assist you as much as we can. This is a great shock to all of us in Bangladesh,” he told his Turkish counterpart during the phone call. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu thanked Momen for calling and also thanked the government of Bangladesh – including the president, the prime minister, speaker of the parliament and the foreign minister – and the people for their sincere messages of condolence and solidarity. Thanking the Bangladesh government for sending search, rescue and medical teams and tents, he said these are what they urgently need at this moment. Foreign Minister Momen wanted to know about the current situation and his Turkish counterpart stated that the situation is not stable yet, and it is worse than what people are seeing on TV. Read More: Rising toll makes quake deadliest in Turkey's modern history “We lost more than 35,000 people and there are people under the rubbles that we couldn’t reach. We are doing our best to normalize life, to provide temporary shelter, and also, we are planning the reconstruction of the region affected by the earthquakes,” said the Turkish foreign minister. He also expressed concerns about the Bangladeshi citizens who were wounded and wished them quick recovery. Momen said two Bangladeshi students have been rescued from debris and they are doing fine. Offering Bangladesh’s support, Momen said, “We can send the construction workers. And whatever you need, let us know and we will try our best.” Read More: Bangladesh team rescues one alive, recovers 22 bodies so far in Turkey “If we need anything else, we will reach out without hesitation,” the Turkish foreign minister responded, as quoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck nine hours apart in south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria rose to 33,185 and was certain to increase as search teams find more bodies.

On suspicion of theft of Tk10 lakh, two construction workers were beaten to death at an under-construction building in the Rajshahi city's Safura BSCIC area Thursday night, police said. The law enforcers detained four people over the incident. They also recovered videos from the accused which show them beating the workers up. Rezaul Karim, 45, from Naogaon's Manda and Rakibul Islam, 35, from Chapainawabganj's Shibganj were tied to a pole and beaten up from noon to 8pm at night. Mazharul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Boalia Police Station, said Rezaul and Rakibul had been working at the building of Modern Food Factory owner Mohammad Abdullah in front of Bishal Biscuit Factory for the past few days.   Read more: Man beaten to death over ‘theft charge’ in Gaibandha On suspicion of theft of Tk10 lakh from the food factory owner's home yesterday, Abdullah, his brother-in-law Moin Uddin Real, father-in-law Masum Reza and factory Manager Imran tied up the workers and beat them up with iron rods and sticks to extract a confession. On information, police rushed to the spot and rescued the workers, both in critical condition.They were taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) where Rezaul was declared dead at 8:30pm, the OC said. "Rakibul succumbed to his injuries around 9.30pm while undergoing treatment." The bodies were kept at the RMCH morgue for autopsies and will be handed over to the families after the completion of legal procedures, he said. So far, no case has been lodged at the police station over the incident, he added.  

A businessman was found dead in his under-construction building at Jalalabad in Khulshi area of Chattogram on Monday. The deceased was identified as Nezam Pasha, 65, son of Abdur Rashid of Fatikchhari upazila. Read: Missing freedom fighter found dead in Chattogram Mohammad Shahinuzzaman, officer-in-charge of Khulshi Police Station, said local people found the body of Nezam on the ground floor of the under-construction building and informed the matter to police. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital. The body bore several injury marks, said police.  Nezam remained missing since he went to the building area on Sunday for clearing the wages of the construction workers. Read: Bodies of 2 newborns recovered in Chattogram However, the victim’s family claimed that some extortionists had demanded money from him and they also issued death threat.

Three construction workers were killed falling from an under-construction building in the city’s Dhanmondi area on Monday.

At least 31 workers of the construction project of the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) have tested positive for coronavirus.