Turkey Earthquake, LIVE UPDATES
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it would donate $200,000 to help Turkey with the rescue efforts and was coordinating with Turkey about sending specialized search and rescue teams. China also said there are no Chinese citizens among the victims. It did not say if it would be sending search and rescue teams.
Russia says it is readying rescue teams to fly to Turkey to help earthquake victims there and in neighbouring Syria.
A minister of emergency situations, Aleksandr Kurenkov, said teams of 100 search and rescue personnel are on standby to be sent to Turkey with two Il-76 transport planes.
AP
Turkey Earthquake, LIVE UPDATES
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said members of the alliance were mobilizing support to help Turkey deal with the aftermath of Monday’s devastating earthquake.
Stoltenberg expressed “full solidarity with our ally Turkey in the aftermath of this terrible earthquake … NATO Allies are mobilizing support now.”
Earlier, the European Union’s EU Civil Protection Mechanism said it had been activated to help provide international assistance, noting that rescue teams from the Netherlands and Romania were already on their way.
AP
Turkey Earthquake, LIVE UPDATES
AFAD, Turkey’s emergency management organisation, announced the deployment of 150 vehicles and 1,898 search and rescue personnel. The city of Kahramanmaras, which is close to the epicentre, received a 130-person crew from the Gendarmerie Special Security Command along with mobile command posts and kitchens.
Turkey Earthquake, LIVE UPDATES
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday his country stood ready to provide emergency aid to Turkey and Syria after an earthquake that killed hundreds in both countries.
Turkey Earthquake, LIVE UPDATES
At least 386 people were killed in Syria on Monday as buildings collapsed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck neighbouring Turkey, state media and a medical source said.
AFP correspondents in northern Syria said terrified residents ran out of their homes after the earthquake hit before dawn near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Syrian border.
The quake killed at least 239 people and left at least another 648 injured in government-controlled parts of Syria, including the cities of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus, state television said.
AFP
Turkey Earthquake, LIVE UPDATES
Russia says it is readying rescue teams to fly to Turkey to help earthquake victims there and in neighbouring Syria.
A minister of emergency situations, Aleksandr Kurenkov, said teams of 100 search and rescue personnel are on standby to be sent to Turkey with two Il-76 transport planes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also offered condolences in telegrams to the leaders of Syria and Turkey and expressed readiness to help.
The offer was made despite Russia’s international isolation led by Western nations over Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
AP
Turkey Earthquake, LIVE UPDATES
The European Union is sending rescue teams and preparing further help for Turkey after a major earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, the bloc’s crisis management commissioner said Monday.
“Teams from the Netherlands and Romania are already on their way,” with the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre overseeing their deployment, commissioner Janez Lenarcic tweeted.
He said that the bloc’s Civil Protection Mechanism had been activated to respond to the quake, which hit Turkey and Syria, causing deaths and destruction in both countries.
His office said that Turkey had requested EU assistance.
Several governments in the EU pledged help, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Belgium, Poland, Spain and Finland also said they stood ready to deploy teams and help.
AFP
Turkey Earthquake, LIVE UPDATES
Istanbul: Turkey has declared a fourth-level alert state after a massive earthquake of 7.8 Richter scale hit the country which resulted in hundreds of casualties and damage to buildings. The “level 4” alarm condition includes an international call for help.
Turkey’s vice president Fuat Oktay said 284 people had been killed and 2,323 people were injured, as authorities scrambled rescue teams and supply aircraft to the affected area while declaring a “level 4 alarm” that calls for international assistance.
Turkey Earthquake, LIVE UPDATES
Turkey is struggling as the strong quake struck near the city of Gaziantep at a depth of 17.9 km, leaving a massive trail of destruction — multiple buildings have been destroyed and over 500 people have died, with the toll only expected to rise. As per the last count, at least 284 people have died and more than 2,300 were injured in Turkey, according to the country’s Vice President Fuat Oktay. In Syria, at least 237 people were killed and 639 injured, Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported, citing a health ministry official.
Turkey Earthquake, LIVE UPDATES
Authorities urged residents not to take to the roads. Mosques around the region were being opened up as a shelter for people unable to return to damaged homes amid temperatures that hovered around freezing.