Turkic world shows strong solidarity with Türkiye following powerful quakes

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkic world is showing strong solidarity with its brothers and sisters in Türkiye in the face of widespread damage and loss of life caused by devastating earthquakes on Monday.

National authorities of the member and observer countries of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) responsible for emergencies and disaster management immediately started to work in coordination with the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).

The OTS countries dispatched professional search and rescue teams and sent field hospitals, medical and technical equipment, as well as humanitarian aid to help with Türkiye’s relief efforts.

The heads of Turkic states telephoned President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to wish the Turkish public well and expressed their condolences.

Ordinary people living in Turkic nations also sent messages of support through social media to their brothers and sisters affected by the quakes.

Nongovernmental organizations and public and private institutions from Turkic world also started collecting humanitarian and financial aid to donate to the people affected by the catastrophic quakes.

OTS Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliev sent Erdogan a message of condolences and issued a statement of solidarity.

The flags at OTS headquarters were lowered to half-staff due to seven days of national mourning in Türkiye.

The OTS Secretariat continues its work to provide assistance to help the people affected by the disaster.

The staff of the OTS Secretariat also donated financial aid through the Turkish disaster management agency AFAD.

Nearly 12,900 people were killed and 63,000 injured by two strong earthquakes which jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, according to the latest official figures released Thursday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, were felt by 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz