Teams from 2 countries still in Türkiye's quake-hit region

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Teams from Azerbaijan and the Philippines are still in Türkiye's quake-hit southern region to help with search and rescue efforts, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday.

"Nearly 11,500 search and rescue teams came from 90 countries...Two more countries, Georgia and Uzbekistan, returned as they completed their search and rescue efforts. Currently two countries left, Azerbaijan and Philippines, with around 700 people," Cavusoglu told reporters in the quake-hit Adiyaman province.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes, while the death toll is now over 44,374.

Condolences have poured in from around the world expressing solidarity with Türkiye, with many countries sending rescue teams and aid.

"30 field hospitals came from 27 countries...Currently 10 of them have returned but 20 of them are active," Cavusoglu said.

He added that more than 125,000 tents have also arrived from abroad.

The first container ships, which were loaded from Qatar, are expected to arrive at the Iskenderun Port in the upcoming days, Cavusoglu said, adding: "We also made plans for around 15,725 containers to arrive in Türkiye."

Cavusoglu thanked all the countries and international organizations that helped Türkiye during this difficult time and stressed that the priority is to heal the wounds of the quake victims.