Live updates of the earthquake in Turkey
The prime minister’s office said a meeting had been held to discuss immediate relief measures and it was agreed that India would send “search and rescue teams, medical teams, along with relief supplies in coordination with the government Turkish”.
“Two 100-strong NDRF teams with specially trained dog teams and the necessary equipment are ready to be transported to the earthquake affected area for search and rescue operations. Medical teams with trained medics and paramedics are also preparing with essential medicines. Material relief will be sent in coordination with the Turkish Government and the Indian Embassy in Ankara and the Consulate General’s Office in Istanbul”, the PMO said in a statement.
The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister’s Chief Secretary, Dr. PK Mishra, and attended the Cabinet Secretary, representatives of the Ministries of the InteriorNDMA, NDRF, Defence, MEACivil Aviation and Health and Family Welfare officials.
Distressed by the loss of life and damage to property due to the earthquake in Turkey. Condolences to the bereaved… https://t.co/myVx7MXkUx
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1675662368000
Expressing his anguish over the loss of life, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India was ready to provide all possible help to those affected by the earthquake in Turkey. “We are all observing the destructive earthquake that hit Turkey. There are reports of several people’s deaths and damages. Damages are also suspected in Turkey’s neighboring countries. The sympathies of India’s 140 crore people are with all the earthquake- affected people,” he said.
“India stands in solidarity with the Turkish people and stands ready to offer all possible assistance to deal with this tragedy,” the prime minister said, tagging a tweet from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan about the earthquake.
Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also condoled on the loss of life in the earthquake. “Deeply saddened by the loss of life and damage caused by the earthquake in Türkiye. We have conveyed to FM @MevlutCavusoglu our condolences and support at this difficult time,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.
Deeply saddened by the loss of life and damage caused by the earthquake in Türkiye. I broadcast to FM… https://t.co/VQm0VHdIWF
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) 1675663568000
Earthquake hits war-torn region
The earthquake, felt as far away as Cairo, was centered north of Gaziantep, the Turkish provincial capital.
It has affected a region that has been shaped on both sides of the border by more than a decade of civil war in Syria.
On the Syrian side, the affected area is divided between government-controlled territory and the country’s last opposition-controlled enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey, meanwhile, hosts millions of refugees from that conflict.
The opposition-controlled regions in Syria are filled with an estimated 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the fighting. Many of them live in buildings already destroyed by past bombings. Hundreds of families were trapped in the rubble, the opposition emergency organisation, called the White Helmets, said in a statement. Struggling health facilities and hospitals quickly filled up with injured people, rescuers said.
“We fear hundreds of deaths,” Muheeb Qaddour, a doctor, from the city of Atmeh said by telephone.
Turkey sits atop major fault lines and is often rocked by earthquakes. About 18,000 people were killed in powerful earthquakes that hit northwestern Turkey in 1999.
The US Geological Survey measured Monday’s quake at 7.8.
At least 20 aftershocks followed, hours later during the day, the strongest measuring 6.6, Turkish authorities said.
(With contributions from agencies)
Clock Watch: Massive earthquake in Turkey, Syria kills more than 600 people, more than 2000 buildings collapse
