No Ukrainians were among the victims of the bloody attack on a popular Istanbul nightclub that rocked Turkey during the New Year celebration.
At least 39 people were killed and some 69 wounded on Jan. 1 when a gunman stormed a building, killing a police officer and a civilian at the entrance to the Reina nightclub, located on a bank of the Bosphorus Strait that separates Europe and Asia. There were reportedly around 700 people dancing to celebrate the New Year at the time of the attack.
Vasyl Bondar, Ukrainian consul in Turkey, cited Turkish officials as saying that there are no Ukrainian citizens among those 21 slain victims identified so far. Bondar said that consuls have been checking local hospitals to identify Ukrainians.
Turkish Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya said the majority of injured were foreigners, including some from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon and Libya. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement that with such attacks, “they are working to destroy our country’s morale and create chaos.”
One of Ukrainians who witnessed the attack, Nataliya Volnova, posted to her Facebook page after the attack: “Terrorists just stormed the nightclub where we celebrated New Year. Many killed. I’m alive! Alive!”
She elaborated later, saying that she’s grateful to a police officer who shielded her with his back. Volnova also mentioned another Ukrainian – a woman from the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk – who was at the nightclub: “I want to thank a young woman Nataliya who gave me her cloak as we were running without our coats to the police department under the rain.” She said she saw the attacker. Volnova would not comment further, saying that “no one wants to talk.”
Turkish officials said the attacker has escaped and is now a target of a major manhunt.
