UK to send medical aid, specialist equipment to earthquake-hit Türkiye

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - The UK will send a field hospital and a critical care air support team and aircraft to help provide vital emergency treatment to those critically injured by the catastrophic earthquakes in Türkiye.

"The field hospital, which includes an emergency department, 24/7 operating theater and accompanying clinical staff, will deploy to support the post-earthquake response in the country," according to an official statement.

"The UK stands ready to assist our close allies and friends during this terrible time. We will keep options open for further assistance as requested," Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said, adding "the Hercules C130 will be used to move casualties within Türkiye."

Development Minister Andrew Mitchell also said the UK has moved quickly to get vital emergency supplies to survivors of the recent earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.

The supplemental support comes in addition to a team of 77 UK search and rescue specialists, equipment and four search dogs that arrived on Tuesday in Gaziantep, one of the 10 provinces in Türkiye affected by the earthquakes, to begin their life-saving operations.

At least 17,674 people were killed and 72,879 others injured after two powerful earthquakes jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, according to the latest official figures.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, have impacted some 13 million people across 10 Turkish provinces including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.