Greece offers aid for quake
Reviving the spirit of 1999, when Greece and Turkey cooperated to deal with the aftermath of destructive earthquakes on both sides of the Aegean, the Foreign Ministry was quick to express support for the victims of yesterday’s killer earthquake in Turkey, and to offer humanitarian aid. «We express our solidarity with the Turkish people in its time of hardship and with the Turkish government, which once again had to deal with the harsh blow of an earthquake,» Foreign Minister George Papandreou said. «We offer our condolences to the victims’ families.» Papandreou said he had instructed the Greek ambassador to Ankara to express Greece’s willingness to immediately send humanitarian aid. At least 45 people died during the quake, which occurred at 9.11 a.m. and registered six on the Richter scale. The quake caused 15 buildings and the minarets of four mosques to collapse in Bolvadin, located about a three-hour drive from Ankara, the nation’s capital.Its epicenter was near the town of Sultandagi, in central Turkey. The letters became so frequent and scary that the mother enlisted the help of the US Postal Inspector’s Office. Any mail to the family postmarked from Greece is rerouted to its office, said Linda Walker, a spokeswoman for the postal inspector.
