Update 1/1/2017 at 8pm:
Lebanese General Consul in Istanbul, Hani Chemaitelly, confirmed after heading to the forensic medicine department and inspecting the bodies of the victims of the Istanbul nightclub attack last night, the death of 3 Lebanese and the wounding of 4 others. Here are the names of the Lebanese who passed away:
- Elias Wardini
- Rita Shami
- Haikal Mussalem
Names of the wounded:
- Francois Asmar
- Nidal Bcherrawi
- Bushra Doueihy
- Meles Paralardo
Our condolences go out to their families. Apparently, the news reporters in Lebanon handled this very inappropriately and unprofessionally. It’s quite shameful how they conducted themselves, especially towards the victims’ families. The National News Agency of Lebanon has reported that there are 4 Lebanese nationals wounded and 1 still missing after an attack at an upscale nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey. 39 people were killed and another 69 injured as a man entered Reina Nightclub dressed as Santa and opened fire during a New Year’s Eve celebrations. The four Lebanese, who were identified as Nidal Bsherrawi, Francois Asmar, and Melissa Papalordu, as well as the daughter of a Lebanese MP Estephan Dweihi, were mildly wounded. MP Dweihi’s daughter is in stable condition. Lebanese consul in Istanbul said that Bsherrawi and Asmar will undergo minor surgical operations. The National News Agency received a call from Mirna Wardini reporting her brother, Elias Khalil Wardini, who’s 26 years old, missing. The missing man’s fiancé relayed to his family that she, Elias, and friends were at said club during the attacks and hid underneath a table. All of them survived except for Elias, who went missing.
تجري حاليا زيارة المستشفيات التي نقل اليها المصابون بالتنسيق مع الامن التركي لمتابعة وضع الضحايا اللبنانيين
— Gebran Bassil (@Gebran_Bassil) January 1, 2017
The Lebanese Consulate contacted the hospitals where injured Lebanese were transported to in Turkey and continued to coordinate with Turkish security forces for latest updates on their condition. We’ll update this article as we get new information.
