Prince William, Kate Middleton visit volunteers helping quake survivors in Türkiye, Syria

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - The Prince and Princess of Wales visited volunteers Thursday who have been engaging in aid efforts and those who have fundraised to help communities affected by the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.

Prince William and Kate Middleton met representatives from the Hayes Muslim Centre who through bucket collections and other donations after prayers have raised over £25,000 ($30,000) for the appeal, including over £17,000 raised on the first day.

They also met representatives from Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) member charities, including aid workers who have recently returned from the crisis zone in Türkiye.

The couple also came together with other communities who have made considerable efforts to fundraise as part of the appeal.

A massive UK fundraising drive launched by the DEC raised £100 million. The appeal was launched on Feb. 9 and included a £5 million donation by the British government via the UK Aid Match scheme. 

The DEC brought together 15 major UK charities including the British Red Cross, Oxfam and ActionAid to raise funds that will cover medical aid, emergency shelter, food and clean water.

On Feb. 6, magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck southern Türkiye.

The massive tremors, centered in Kahramanmaras province, also shook 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa and Elazig.

More than 46,100 people were killed in the earthquakes and some 13.5 million people have been affected, with thousands of buildings destroyed.