Relief supplies from Pakistan arrive in earthquake-hit Türkiye

By Betul Aklan, Ozan Efeoglu and Omer Yildiz

ADANA, Türkiye (AA) - A plane carrying humanitarian aid from Pakistan arrived in southern Türkiye early Sunday following deadly earthquakes last month.

The plane departed from Lahore and landed at Adana airport loaded with 1,200 tents sent by the Pakistani government as part of a special cargo flight operation to transport 50,000 tents.

It carried winter and fire-resistant tents and was welcomed by Mahroo Arshad, press attaché at the Pakistani Embassy in Ankara and Counsellor Syed Atif Razay.

Three ships carrying nearly 13,600 winter tents are also headed to Türkiye and will arrive in Mersin province later this month.

Pakistan was among the first countries to send search and rescue teams to Türkiye as the government immediately dispatched a 33-member Pakistan Army Urban Search and Rescue Team on Feb. 6.

More than 47,900 people were killed in Türkiye in the quakes that struck Feb. 6, according to official figures.

More than 13 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the powerful quakes that rocked 11 provinces, including Kahramanmaras, Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan