Albania gets 1st aid from Turkey after deadly quake

By Fatjon Cuka, Dzihat Aliju, Emre Aytekin and Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Turkey on Tuesday became the first country to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Albania.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), Turkey’s state aid agency, delivered the first group of food packages and blankets to quake victims in the Albanian city of Durres following the 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which killed 20 people.

Also, 500 food packages and 500 blankets were distributed to hundreds of families in the Thumane district.

The food packages include rice, oil, beans, sugar, pasta, flour, and various products. A total of 3,000 food packages and 3,000 blankets will be provided to quake victims.

Visiting the region where the aid was distributed, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama thanked TIKA for its support.

He also visited families placed in tents set up by Albanian authorities in the region.

"By the instructions of our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has became the first country to reach Albania with aid,” said Turkey's Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy on social media.

“Our TIKA office in Albania, immediately after the earthquake, gathered supplies from local wholesalers and set out quickly for the region. As of now, the aid is delivered to the needy. In addition, five fully equipped ambulances delivered by TIKA to the Albanian Health Ministry this year are working to heal the wounded in Durres and Thumane."

The 6.4 quake hit the Adriatic coastal city of Durres at 3.54 a.m. (0254GMT).

The Albanian Health Ministry said at least 600 people were injured by the tremor.

The quake’s epicenter was 15 kilometers (9 miles) off the coast of Durres, at a depth of 38 km (23 mi).