Japan to dispatch 2nd medical team to quake-hit Türkiye

By Anadolu Agency Staff

ANKARA (AA) – Japan is sending another medical team to Turkiye to support the ongoing relief operation in areas hit by devastating earthquakes on Feb. 6.

“With regard to the earthquake in the Republic of Türkiye, the government of Japan will dispatch a second Japanese Disaster Relief (JDR) medical team to that country today (Feb. 12),” said a statement from Japan's Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

An advance team, the statement added, departed for Türkiye on Friday last and has already started coordination with the Turkish government officials regarding specific assistance.

“Japan will continue to further assess the damage on the ground and consider necessary assistance based on the actual needs,” the statement concluded.

According to the latest figures, at least 24,617 people have been killed and over 80,000 others wounded after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes struck 10 southern Turkish provinces within the space of a few hours on Feb. 6, 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.