(source: AP/TASR)
The Slovak authorities do not have any information about any Slovaks who may have died or been injured in an earthquake that struck Italy on August 24, said Igor Skoček of the Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry’s press department.
The ministry currently registers 239 Slovaks who filled in their information on its system before travelling to Italy. It has sent them an emergency text message in which they inform travellers about the current situation and do not recommend them to travel to the area stricken by the earthquake, Skoček added for the SITA newswire.
Moreover, Slovakia’s representation office is monitoring the current situation and recommends people to follow the instructions of local authorities, police and rescuers.
Slovak President Andrej Kiska, meanwhile, sent condolences to his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarell. He expressed his deep sympathy with the president and also the families of the victims. Slovakia is ready to offer help to Italy, if necessary, he added.
“It is hard to find words that would express the sorrow over victims of this tragic event and the suffering of people who were left without homes,” Kiska wrote, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
The earthquake which stroke the central part of Italy has already claimed at least 38 lives and left dozens injured. The local authorities expect there are still hundreds of people trapped in the ruins of fallen buildings. The hypocentre of the 6.2-magnitude quake was in Perugia province, close to the town of Norcia, about four kilometres below the earth's surface, SITA wrote.
