Australia to dispatch 72-member search and rescue team to southern Turkey

ANKARA (AA) – Australia announced on Wednesday that it would immediately dispatch a 72-member search and rescue team to southern Turkey in the aftermath of two deadly earthquakes that affected 10 provinces.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the team would help local authorities in their ongoing search and rescue operation.

"Early today following advice from my department I agreed to activate AUSASSISTPLAN plan to deploy an urban search and rescue team of up to 72 personnel to take care to assist local authorities," Wong told the parliament.

"Our National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is now conducting an urgent assessment to ensure the safety of Australian personnel. NEMA is working closely with Fire and Rescue New South Wales the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the ADF (Defence Australia) to can coordinate the deployment as soon as possible," she added.

The team includes urban search and rescue specialists who are highly trained to locate, provide medical assistance to, and remove victims who have become trapped or impacted by structural collapse, she said.

On Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese while expressing his sympathies and condolences to the families and communities who have lost loved ones announced humanitarian assistance for the victims.

"These multiple earthquakes that have hit the region are having a devastating impact, and today I can announce that the Australian government will provide an initial A$10 million ($6.94 million) in humanitarian assistance to those affected through our Red Cross and Red Crescent partners and through humanitarian agencies," he said.

The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes in southern Türkiye rose to 5,894, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said early Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference, Oktay put the number of injured from the massive quakes centered in Kahramanmaras province at 34,810.

The quakes also affected neighboring Syria, where 1,622 people were killed and hundreds injured.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid