The Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid, on Saturday, sent a message of condolence to his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, following the earthquake that struck eastern Turkey.
The magnitude 6.8 quake which struck during the evening of January 24 had its epicentre in the small lakeside town of Sivrice in Elazig province and was felt across neighbouring provinces and countries.
Minister Shahid expressed sadness over the loss of lives, injuries and damage to infrastructure caused by the earthquake.
"On behalf of the Government and people of the Maldives, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Your Excellency, the Government and the people of the Republic of Turkey".
The foreign minister also conveyed sincere condolences to the members of bereaved families.
The Turkish government's disaster and emergency management agency (AFAD) reported that the death toll had reached 31 with 1,607 sustaining injuries.
AFAD further reported the occurrence of 462 aftershocks including 14 that were above four in magnitude.
Close to 80 buildings collapsed while 645 were heavily damaged in the provinces of Elazig and Malatya.
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