Pakistani aircraft carrying quake relief goods departs for Türkiye

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – A Pakistani cargo plane carrying 90 tons of relief goods, including 1,200 winterized tents, departed for quake-hit Türkiye on Sunday.

It was the second aid flight sent to Türkiye for earthquake victims over the past 48 hours, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority said in a statement.

On Saturday, another cargo plane carrying 90 tons of relief goods arrived in the southern Adana province, the statement added.

Khawaja Hassan, Pakistani prime minister's special assistant, is accompanying the relief aid.

"Both flights are part of a special air bridge operation which will fly more than 34 chartered cargo aircraft for dispatching tents to Türkiye," the statement added.

A second ship of the Pakistan Navy departed on Saturday with 500 tons of relief supplies for people affected by the twin powerful earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria on Feb. 6.

The ship, PNS Moawin, which departed from Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, is carrying 2,600 winterized tents and 38,000 blankets for Türkiye and 22,000 blankets, ration packets, and generators for Syria.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week announced that Pakistan would send 50,000 winterized tents for earthquake victims in Türkiye by March 23.