UPDATE 2 - Eurasian countries continue support for quake-hit Türkiye

ADDS UZBEKISTAN SECTION, UPDATES AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA, KAZAKHSTAN & KYRGYZSTAN SECTION, EDITS SPOT AND CASUALTY NUMBERS; OTHER EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Countries in Eurasia continue lending critical support to Türkiye’s ongoing earthquake relief efforts, sending hundreds of rescue and medical personnel, along with essential equipment and supplies.

According to the latest figures, over 29,600 people have been killed and over 80,000 others were wounded after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes struck 10 southern Turkish provinces within the space of a few hours last Monday, affecting around 13 million people.

The earthquakes hit Kahramanmaras and nine other provinces, namely Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors.

- Russia

Russia's Embassy in Ankara announced early Sunday that 39 Russian citizens living and working near the earthquake zone were flown back to the country from Adana Airport.

The embassy added that Russia dispatched three aircraft containing humanitarian aid, including 500 tents, 9,000 sleeping bags and heat-insulating mats, and 19 tons of food products.

"Currently, a new batch of humanitarian aid is being prepared for shipment to Türkiye," the statement added.

- Ukraine

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said on Sunday that its representatives and Ukrainian rescuers met with officials from the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Türkiye (AFAD).

The working meeting discussed issues of cooperation between Ukrainian and Turkish rescuers, the use of special equipment during debris removal, and the search for people, the statement on Telegram said.

It also noted that Turkish rescuers appreciated the work of Ukrainian specialists and thanked them for their help.

- Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani personnel in the Kahramanmaras region rescued a total of 51 people from under the rubble, while also pulling out the bodies of 518 people, according to the latest statement by the country’s Emergency Situations Ministry early Sunday.

The ministry later announced that a 16-truck convoy carrying humanitarian aid arrived in the Kahramanmaras region.

Another statement also noted a meeting between ministry representatives and officials from AFAD took place, where current operational conditions and next steps to be taken regarding search and rescue efforts were discussed.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement that high-voltage generators were also sent to Türkiye.

A day earlier, the Emergency Situations Ministry said that a third convoy of nine trucks of humanitarian aid was being sent to Türkiye, carrying 1,015 tents and 240 heaters for those impacted by the earthquakes.

Separately, the ministry announced that a second plane carrying a mobile field hospital landed in the city of Adana to treat those injured.

Earlier, it noted that a plane initially carrying humanitarian aid of 240 tents landed at Adana Airport.

- Georgia

On Sunday, Georgian Ambassador to Turkey Giorgi Janjgava said on Twitter that he is traveling to the Adiyaman region along with embassy representatives to deliver humanitarian aid.

Janjgava said he will also make official contacts with the local government in the quake area, in addition to meeting with quake victims and providing support to the Georgian search and rescue team involved in the region.

The Georgian Parliament said on Saturday that it has sent humanitarian supplies to the Turkish Embassy in Tbilisi after Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said the country would be sending another 60 rescuers and a humanitarian aid convoy to Türkiye.

Earlier, the country’s government announced that it allocated 1 million Georgian lari ($375,299) to provide humanitarian aid to Türkiye.

“The allocated financial resources will be used to procure medication, food, clothes, medical equipment, and other items, and their transportation,” the statement read.

- Kazakhstan

Since the start of their search and rescue operations, Kazakh personnel rescued seven people while pulling out the bodies of 39 in the city of Gaziantep, according to a statement by the country’s Emergency Situations Ministry early Sunday.

The statement added that work is being done at three different sites in the city, adding that another group of rescuers and search dogs were sent to a site in the Hatay region, where the bodies of two Kazakh citizens were found.

Their bodies will be transported to the city of Almaty late on Saturday, Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov told a press briefing on Friday.

Smadiyarov said that 124 Kazakh citizens were evacuated from regions impacted by the powerful quakes, while 58 were evacuated by repatriation flights to the capital Astana.

Elsewhere, residents of Kazakhstan's Aktobe region sent humanitarian aid worth more than 30 million Kazakh tenge ($66,560) to Türkiye, according to state-run news agency Kazinform.

Aktobe Airport Director Dastan Maliev said that over 11 tons of humanitarian aid had been sent to Türkiye on Sunday, adding that the humanitarian aid was collected by volunteers, including residents of the region and business representatives.

- Uzbekistan

The Uzbek Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on Sunday that five cargo planes carrying humanitarian aid were sent to Türkiye.

The statement noted that the aid campaign, which collected various forms of humanitarian aid, including clothing, beds, blankets, cleaning, and hygiene care items, as well as canned foods and necessities, were collected with the coordination of non-governmental organizations in the country.

It also said 10 Uzbek cooks distributed two meals a day in the regions affected by the earthquakes.

A separate statement by the country's Emergency Situations Ministry said that the bodies of three Uzbek citizens were transported back to the country by plane.

- Kyrgyzstan

The press service of the Kyrgyz Emergency Situations Ministry said early Sunday that rescuers from the country rescued a 7-year-old boy from the rubble of a building in the city of Kahramanmaras.

A statement by the ministry on Facebook also noted that the bodies of the child’s mother and brother were also pulled out.

The ministry added that a plane carrying 56 personnel, as well as 75 tents and humanitarian aid, arrived in Türkiye.

It also declared that search and rescue operations continue to be carried out in two districts of Kahramanmaras, and that three civilians have been rescued since they started, while the bodies of 99 people have also been recovered.

On Saturday, the ministry also announced that a 22-year-old pregnant woman was rescued by Kyrgyz rescuers.

Separately, rescuers in the city of Hatay found the body of a 37-year-old Kyrgyz woman, adding that the country’s embassy in Türkiye is making every effort to send her body back to Kyrgyzstan.

- Mongolia

Mongolia's National Emergency Management Agency said on Sunday that its personnel recovered the bodies of three people on Saturday.

"The medical personnel of the rescue team examined a total of 92 people (eight of them children) at the field hospital on 11 February and provided emergency medical care," the statement said.

The statement also said that search and rescue operations were temporarily suspended due to aftershocks at 2:12 a.m. (2312GMT) and 9:39 p.m. (1839GMT) on Sunday.