Twitter gets restricted in earthquake-hit Turkey, Elon Musk says access will be re-enabled soon

© Provided by India Today Twitter gets restricted in earthquake-hit Turkey, Elon Musk says access will be re-enabled soon

Earlier this week, a massive earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit both Syria and Turkey, causing entire apartment blocks to collapse, damaging hospitals, and leaving thousands injured or homeless in the two countries. This was followed by two more earthquakes, of magnitude 7.6 and 6.0, striking Turkey. Rescue operations are underway and Turkey locals were tweeting valuable information about their family and friends. However, amidst all of this, the micro-blogging site got restricted in earthquake-hit Turkey. As per a Reuters report, two days after the earthquakes, Twitter was restricted in Turkey by the government. There was no comment from the Transportation and Infrastructure Ministry on the same.

"Real-time network data show Twitter has been restricted in Turkey; the filtering is applied on major internet providers and comes as the public come to rely on the service in the aftermath of a series of deadly earthquakes," said Netblocks, which tracks connectivity across the globe. 

Elon Musk on Twitter getting restricted in Turkey

Elon Musk confirmed the same and said that Twitter has been informed by the Turkish government that access of the micro-blogging website in the area will be re-enabled soon. 

"Twitter has been informed by the Turkish government that access will be re-enabled shortly," he wrote. 

All sorts of communication platforms have become extremely critical in earthquake-hit Turkey as they help people to connect with their near and dear ones. 

Turkey and Syria hit by earthquakes

Rescue teams are searching for survivors and are working tirelessly. The death toll in the tragedy has climbed over 4,000. In order to do their bit for the people, dozens of nations have promised to provide aid and assistance to the affected countries. India also sent its first batch of relief material and NDRF teams to Turkey earlier this week.

"The 1st batch of earthquake relief material was dispatched from India to Turkey, along with NDRF search and rescue teams, specially trained dog squads, medical supplies, drilling machines and other necessary equipment," read a tweet from the official spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs.

The action was appreciated by Turkey's Ambassador to India Firat Sunel. He referred to New Delhi as 'dost' (friend) and shared a Turkish proverb on 'dosti' (friendship) on Twitter.

He wrote, "Dost is a common word in Turkish and Hindi... We have a Turkish proverb: "Dost kara gunde belli olur" (a friend in need is a friend indeed). Thank you very much India."

Ukraine, which is currently at war with Russia, also announced its support to the victims. "Ukraine stands ready to send a large group of rescue workers to Turkey to assist in crisis response. We are working closely with the Turkish side to coordinate their deployment," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry stated.

Russia, the USA, South Korea and several other nations also announced relief measures to help the affected people.