No Hungarians were hurt in Istanbul explosion

No Hungarians were killed or injured in an explosion in Istanbul on Sunday, a spokesman for the foreign ministry told MTI. President Katalin Novák expressed sympathy and condolences.

Máté Paczolay said the consulate in Istanbul and the embassy in Ankara are in contact with the Turkish foreign ministry as well as national and local police. The consulate is available 24 hours a day to provide for Hungarians in need of assistance, he added.

So far, three Hungarian nationals, staying in a hotel just 40 metres from the site of the explosion, have contacted the consulate, he said. None of them were harmed and they plan to leave the country in the coming days, as originally planned, he added. Consular and embassy staff continue to follow events closely, Paczolay said.

President expresses sympathy

President Katalin Novák has expressed sympathy and condolences to the family and friends of the victims of an explosion in Istanbul, and to the Turkish nation, the Sándor Palace told MTI on Sunday.

The blast, in a popular pedestrian street in Istanbul on Sunday afternoon, left six dead and 81 injured. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the explosion a “nefarious attack”, speaking at a press conference.