Turkish Embassy in Peru sends aid to quake victims in Türkiye

By Sinan Dogan

BOGOTA, Columbia (AA) - Aid for quake victims in Türkiye collected by the Turkish Embassy in Peru has been sent to the country, according to an embassy statement.

Despite the great geographical distance between Türkiye and Peru, friends of Türkiye in Peru, who deeply share the pain of the Turkish nation in the wake of the devastating Feb. 6 quakes, showed great interest in the aid drive, the embassy said late Sunday.

“We sincerely thank our esteemed citizens, our dear Peruvian friends, and friends of Türkiye in Peru for their valuable contributions to our donation drive,” it added.

According to diplomatic sources, with the help of contributions of Turkish citizens living in the country and the Peruvian people, 9.5 tons of aid was collected, including heaters, sleeping bags, winter clothes, and nearly 4,000 blankets.

Due to the lack of direct flights between Peru and Türkiye, the materials will be transported from Peru to Türkiye by a cargo plane of the LAS company via Bogota, Colombia’s capital, on a scheduled flight of Turkish Airlines.

The embassy thanked Peruvian authorities and Turkish citizens working at Lima Airport Partners, which operates the Jorge Chavez International Airport, for facilitating the aid delivery.

Over 44,300 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6.

The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

* Writing by Anna Cecilia Canatan