Countries pledge help after Turkey, Syria earthquake kills hundreds
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs dispatched its catastrophe evaluation and coordination groups to Turkey. As of Tuesday afternoon, almost 1,400 personnel and 45 search canines had arrived, with one other 27 groups anticipated to reach later Tuesday and Wednesday.
The European Union can also be sending 27 rescue and medical groups from 19 member states to help Turkey, making up over 1,150 rescuers and 70 rescue canines, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department despatched a 78-member rescue crew made up of rescue specialists, firefighters, paramedics, medical doctors, canine search groups and structural engineers.
President Biden on Monday stated administration officers had “reached out immediately to their Turkish counterparts to coordinate any and all needed assistance,” and that “U.S.-supported humanitarian partners are also responding to the destruction in Syria.”
South Korean officers dispatched a 60-person rescue crew and medical provides to Turkey by way of navy plane on Tuesday, in accordance with an announcement issued by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s workplace.
Yoon referred to as Turkey a “brother nation” that despatched troops to assist South Korea in the course of the 1950-1953 Korean War. He additionally despatched condolences to Erdogan and promised “every possible support,” his workplace stated.
Rescue employees from India’s National Disaster Response Force departed on Tuesday morning, it stated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Monday offered Turkey “all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy.”
Germany’s International Search and Rescue left Cologne on Monday for Turkey’s Gaziantep area, the place the earthquake passed off. The group, which specializes within the search and rescue of individuals buried below rubble, stated it is going to work with Turkish rescue groups and specialist canines to search out survivors within the rubble.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock additionally referred to as on Russia to assist stress Syria into permitting humanitarian help into the nation amid the nation’s civil warfare. Both government- and rebel-held areas in Syria have reported deaths and accidents from the quake.
“It is also important that the weapons are now silent and that all efforts in the region can be focused on humanitarian aid and on the rescue and protection of the earthquake victims,” she stated Tuesday. “For this it is essential that the border crossings are all opened now.”
Diplomatic tensions with the federal government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the civil warfare have made it tough for nations to ship worldwide help. Many Western nations have frosty relations — or, within the case of the United States, no formal diplomatic relations — with Assad.
The earthquake piled additional hardship onto rebel-held northwest Syria that’s nonetheless affected by years of humanitarian disaster, political battle and widespread displacement.
Assad’s violent crackdown on the 2011 protests had turned the nation right into a regional and worldwide pariah for the final decade.
However, in wake of the devastating earthquake, many neighboring nations at the moment are vowing to assist.
The United Arab Emirates on Monday pledged to arrange a discipline hospital and ship search and rescue groups, in addition to present humanitarian help. Egypt’s president vowed to ship help as properly, as did Oman’s sultan and Tunisia’s president.
Algeria dispatched 115 tonnes (127 tons) of emergency help to Aleppo, and Lebanon introduced it could waive taxes and costs for planes and ships bringing help to Syria, and ship a delegation made up of civil protection, engineers, Red Cross volunteers and firefighters.
Iraq pledged to ship two planes of emergency reduction help to Syria, in addition to civil protection groups and 150 paramedics to Turkey, as a authorities spokesman expressed Iraq’s assist for “our brothers, the Syrian people.”
Russia additionally introduced it could ship direct help to Syria and that it was dispatching emergency response employees, the Kremlin stated in a readout of the Monday name between President Vladimir Putin and Assad. Russia was Assad’s greatest ally in the course of the civil warfare.
Putin additionally supplied his deep condolences to Erdogan and confirmed Russia’s “readiness to immediately provide Turkish partners with necessary assistance in dealing with the aftermath of this natural disaster,” the Kremlin stated.
Jennifer Hassan, Natalia Abbakumova, Meaghan Tobin, Leo Sands, Gerry Shih, Sarah Dadouch and Ellen Francis contributed to this report.