Caucasus, Central Asian countries keep supporting relief efforts in quake-hit Türkiye

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Caucasus and Central Asian countries continue to provide critical support to Türkiye's ongoing earthquake relief efforts sending hundreds of rescue and medical personnel, along with essential equipment and supplies.

A statement by the Azerbaijani Emergency Situations Ministry said early Wednesday that its personnel rescued 53 people from the rubble, while the bodies of 691 people were handed over to the Turkish authorities.

“Search and rescue operations are continuing with the use of special technical means, as well as rescue dogs. Additional information will be provided on the progress of operations,” the statement further said.

Meanwhile, the Kazakh Emergency Situations Ministry said early Wednesday that its rescuers pulled out seven survivors from the rubble while recovering the bodies of 88 people.

The statement noted that Kazakh rescuers continue to conduct search and rescue operations in the cities of Gaziantep and Nurdagi.

Separately, Kazakhstan will send 55 tons of additional humanitarian aid to Türkiye on Wednesday, as per instructions given by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev the day before, according to state-run news agency Kazinform.

The Kyrgyz Emergency Situations Ministry on Wednesday posted on Facebook that its rescuers began to work in three districts in the city of Kahramanmaras.

“Currently, more than 140 rescuers, three service dogs, and paramedics are working on the ground,” the statement read.

According to the latest statement by the ministry late Tuesday, Kyrgyz rescuers pulled out five survivors from the rubble and recovered the bodies of 154 people.

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahan Hunanyan said in a Twitter post early Wednesday that a second batch of humanitarian aid from Yerevan for victims of the powerful quakes crossed into Türkiye.

On Tuesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry also announced that Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan would travel to Türkiye on Wednesday, where he will hold a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara and later meet with Armenian rescuers in the city of Adiyaman.

At least 35,418 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors last week were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck nine other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

In neighboring Syria, at least 3,688 people were killed and over 14,749 injured.