Union minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday tweeted that two Indians have died in the terror attack at a nightclub in Istanbul in which total 39 people have died while 65 others were injured. While one of them, she said, was Abis Rizvi, the son of former lawmaker Akhtar Hasan Rizvi, the other has been identified as Khushi Shah, a resident of Gujarat.
I have a bad news from Turkey. We have lost two Indian nationals in the Istanbul attack. Indian Ambassador is on way to Istanbul. /1
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 1, 2017
The victims are Mr.Abis Rizvi son of former Rajya Sabha MP and Ms.Khushi Shah from Gujarat. /2
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 1, 2017
Apart from two Indians, the victims included at least 15 foreign nationals, two Lebanese and five Saudi nationals among those killed, authorities confirmed on Sunday.
The attack took place in a nightclub early Sunday as they people were celebrating the New Year, Turkey’s Interior Minister said. “We are face to face with a terror attack,” Interior minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.
Soylu said that police were still hunting for the “terrorist” who attacked the Reina nightclub at about 01:30 local time (4:00 am IST). “The efforts to locate the terrorist are ongoing. Security forces have begun the necessary operations. God willing soon (the attacker) will be apprehended.” Soylu said.
The assailant, who has not yet been identified, opened fire inside the high-end nightclub in the busy Besiktas neighborhood, Turkish state media reported. “A terrorist with a long-range weapon … brutally and savagely carried out this incident by firing bullets on innocent people who were there solely to celebrate the New Year and have fun,” Istanbul Vasip Sahin told reporters.
There were reportedly as many as 700 people in the nightclub at the time of the attack. No claim of responsibility has yet been made. The Turkish government has ordered a temporary media blackout in the wake of the attack.
