Even as rescuers searched through the chilly night into Tuesday in the hopes of pulling more survivors from the rubble following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 3,800 people and toppled thousands of buildings across a wide region, India has sent the first batch of relief supplies to Turkey aboard an Indian Air Force aircraft.
A team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) with a specially trained dog squad and the necessary tools, such as a variety of medical supplies, cutting-edge drilling machines, and other essential tools required for the aid efforts, departed for Turkey for search and rescue operations hours after the Prime Minister’s Office made its announcement.
“Indian capabilities for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) in action. Along with the NDRF Search and Rescue Teams, specially trained dog squads, medical supplies, drilling machines, and other necessary equipment, the first batch of earthquake relief supplies departs for Turkiye “Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
Prior to this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wished the injured a speedy recovery. Additionally, Modi gave instructions to officials to provide all assistance possible in dealing with the quake’s aftermath.
“Angered by the deaths and property damage caused by the earthquake in Turkey. Condolences to the families of the deceased. May the wounded get better quickly,” Modi wrote in a tweet.
“A friend in need is indeed a friend,” the Turkish ambassador to India, Firat Sunel, said in response to the Indian government’s offer of assistance.
Another Turkish proverb he mentioned was “Dost kara gunde belli olur,” which translates to “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”
In Turkey and Syria, tens of thousands of people who were made homeless had to spend the night outside in the cold. People sought refuge in malls, stadiums, mosques, and community centres in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, a provincial capital that is 33 km from the epicentre. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, proclaimed seven days of national mourning.
