Mongolian team rescued 8 people in quake-hit Türkiye, says defense attache

By Sumeyye Dilara Dincer

ANKARA (AA) – The Mongolian search and rescue team in Türkiye rescued eight people since the start of their operations after two powerful quakes jolted Turkish southern regions last week.

Search and rescue specialists, a military field hospital team, as well as humanitarian aid materials were sent to Türkiye by the Mongolian government, Mongolian Defense Attache Maj. Gen. Badambazar Jambaa told Anadolu in an interview.

Noting that the team consisted of 35 people, Jambaa said that 10 people from this team were doctors and worked in the established military field hospital.

Jambaa further said that the search and rescue team with two sniffer dogs has rescued eight people so far, including 2 children.

He also noted that five tons of canned meat, 1,000 woolen blankets and 20 traditional tents were sent as humanitarian aid to Türkiye, saying that additional tents will be delivered to the earthquake zone in the coming days.

He added that non-governmental organizations and people in Mongolia have started an aid campaign in order to help the affected Turkish people.

“It made me very proud to see how the Turkish people are working in unity and solidarity in the face of serious difficulties in Gaziantep and Antakya," he said, noting that he believes the Turkish people can overcome the consequences of the disaster.

At least 36,187 people were killed by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country's disaster agency said on Thursday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.