Islamabad: On the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Tuesday dispatched humanitarian assistance to earthquake-hit Turkiye as the death toll has neared 3,000 in Turkiye alone.
Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt. General Inam Haider Malik sent off the emergency relief consignment from the Nur Khan Air Base through PAF C-130 aircraft, including winterized tents and blankets along with a search and rescue team of Pakistan Army.
On special directions of PM, NDMA dispatched humanitarian assistance to earthquake hit Turkiye through PAF C-130 aircraft from Nur Khan Air Base (1/4). pic.twitter.com/e3lxjIQXTO
— NDMA PAKISTAN (@ndmapk) February 7, 2023
Reuters reported that rescue teams worked early on Tuesday to release people trapped in the rubble of buildings in southern Turkey as the death toll in the country from a devastating earthquake a day earlier rose to nearly 3,000.
The magnitude 7.8 quake rippled through both countries early Monday, toppling entire apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands more injured or homeless.
Nearly 8,000 people have been rescued from 4,758 buildings destroyed in the tremors a day earlier, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said in its latest statement.
AFAD head Yunus Sezer said that 2,921 people had died in Turkey as aftershocks continued to shake the region. Another earthquake of 5.6 magnitude struck central Turkey on Tuesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.
At least 1,444 people were killed in Syria and about 3,500 injured, according to figures from the Damascus government and rescue workers in the northwestern region controlled by insurgents.
With additional input from Reuters.
