BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 7. Following the instructions of President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, two aircraft of the Turkish Presidential Administration have been sent to the earthquake zone to carry out search, rescue, and medical efforts, Trend reports via the Turkish media.
By President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's order, one of the aircraft assigned to search and rescue and medical teams to work in the quake zone flew to Adiyaman, while the other aircraft to Kahramanmaras.
There are cardiologists, general surgeons, cardiovascular surgeons, neurosurgeons, orthopedists, obstetricians, nurses, and technical staff of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) aboard these aircraft.
The planes will also deliver medical supplies, generators, food, and clothing to the disaster areas. Upon return, they will take the quake victims to Ankara.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 has hit southeastern Türkiye on Feb. 6, 2023. The earthquake occurred at a depth of seven kilometers in the Pazarcik region of Kahramanmaras Province. The provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adiyaman, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana and Kahramanmaras were subjected to the severe destruction.
The quake’s epicenter was located 26 km away from the city of Gaziantep with a population of about 1.06 million.
Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said that three more earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.4-6.6 rocked Gaziantep province in south-eastern Türkiye. As a result of the earthquake that hit Türkiye, strong tremors were also felt in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Cyprus.
As many as 3,549 people have been killed, 22,168 have got injured in the quake, and 5,775 buildings have been destroyed, so far. More than 8,000 people have been rescued from the rubble.