Earthquake: Irish charity Goal says 27 of its workers killed

An Irish-based aid charity, Goal, has confirmed that 27 of its workers have lost their lives in the earthquake in Syria and Turkey.

The victims were 26 Syrian citizens and one Turkish citizen, but an undisclosed number of other Goal aid workers remain unaccounted for, the charity said.

Goal's chief executive Siobhan Walsh said "the scale of loss is far beyond anything we could have ever imagined".

In total more than 23,700 people are known to have died in the disaster.

Ms Walsh said it had been a "profoundly difficult week" for Goal team members working in Syria and Turkey.

Goal was founded in 1977 by Irish journalist John O'Shea, following a visit to India where he was deeply moved by the plight of children living on the streets.

It is now a global organisation with 3,500 personnel working across 14 countries.

Goal has been working in war-torn Syria since 2012 and currently has more than 900 staff in the north west of the country.

It deployed staff to Turkey in 2016 to provide support to refugees and currently has more than 250 worker in the south-eastern provinces.

'Deeply saddened'

In a statement, the charity said: "Accounting for the safety of each and every member of staff has been the utmost priority since last Monday.

"But this has presented significant challenges given the immediate movement of staff to find shelter and safety following the earthquake, the loss of electricity and power for telecommunications, damaged and completely unpassable roads, and the absolute geography of destruction and desolation across the vast region."

The Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he was "deeply saddened to hear of the significant loss of life among Goal staff as a result of Monday's tragic earthquake".