Generosity, selflessness of Turks are indescribable, says official

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said Thursday that the country will overcome the "historic challenge" by being united in the aftermath of deadly quakes in the southern region.

"We are grateful to everyone who has been helping in any way they can. Our people’s generosity and selflessness are indescribable. The international community’s mobilization to help is also deeply appreciated and welcome.

"We will ignore those who try to benefit politically from this national disaster and focus on providing aid. As a nation united to overcome this historic challenge, we are constantly reminded of the resilience of our people as we witness their courage during this effort," Altun wrote on Twitter.

At least 17,406 people were killed and 71,866 injured by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Monday.

The 7.7- and 7.6-magnitude 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.

Several countries, including Syria and Lebanon, felt strong tremors in the space of less than 10 hours.

"Monday’s earthquakes have been the worst ones in this region in modern history," said Altun.

He added that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued to visit quake-hit cities Thursday, including Gaziantep, Osmaniye and Kilis.

"As our President Erdogan indicated, the unprecedented scale of the affected area (500-square-kilometer (193-square-mile) area with a population of 13.5 million) has made our work much harder but all our state institutions and agencies are mobilized to provide rapid relief," said Altun.

More than 100,000 personnel are on the ground working to provide help, he said. "Every single city in our country has been sending food, clothing, supplies and everything that is needed."

Erdogan assured that recovery and rebuilding efforts will start very fast to deliver housing to victims, he added.

After the quakes, condolences poured in from around the world expressing solidarity with Türkiye, with many countries sending rescue teams and aid.