Over 617,500 people evacuated by air from quake-hit region in Türkiye

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - More than 617,500 people have been evacuated by air from the quake-hit provinces in southern Türkiye since two strong tremors hit on Feb. 6, the civil aviation authority said on Wednesday.

A total of 3,540 flights were operated for evacuating victims, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Also, 292 flights were carried out for shifting humanitarian aid to the quake-hit provinces.

The directorate also coordinated 690 foreign aircraft carrying aid material to the region.

It said Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, SunExpress, Freebird Airlines, Cortex Aviation, Corendon Airlines, Tailwind Airlines, Air Anka, Mavi Gok Airlines, MNG Airlines, ULS Airlines, and ACT Airlines joined the operations.

More than 45,000 people have died in the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, which were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.