5 flights with rescue teams sent to quake-hit Turkey, and Syria from India
On Tuesday, India sent specialist search and rescue teams with dog squads and an army mobile hospital team to Turkey and relief materials, including medicines and medical equipment, to Syria as the death toll rose to more than 6,200 following Monday’s earthquake.
Four C-17 Globemaster heavy lift aircraft carried more than 100 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and a 99-member team from the Indian Army’s Agra-based army field hospital along with more than 100 tonnes of equipment and relief materials to Turkey.
More than 50 searches and rescue personnel from the NDRF, specially trained dog squads, drilling machines, relief material, medicines and other equipment were despatched on a C-17 Globemaster aircraft early on Monday. The flight landed at Adana in Turkey, one of the areas affected by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar and defence minister Rajnath Singh tweeted details of the humanitarian assistance flights. Jaishankar said: “India expresses its solidarity at this challenging moment.” Singh added in a tweet that India “stands in solidarity with the people of Türkiye in this difficult time”.
