Ukrainian teams to travel to Türkiye to help search and rescue efforts over powerful quakes

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said dozens of rescuers from the country would be able to help search and rescue operations in Türkiye, after the country’s southern provinces were hit by powerful earthquakes on Monday.

"Several dozen Ukrainian rescuers will be able to help Türkiye, our neighbor, our friend, without disrupting the ability of rescue services in Ukraine," Kuleba told local media late Monday.

Kuleba noted that they held consultations with the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, where it was determined that several dozen rescuers would be sent to Türkiye.

He also said the Foreign Ministry received 20 appeals from Ukrainian citizens who cannot get in touch with their relatives in Türkiye.

"As of now, we have no information about the victims, but while the rubble is being sorted out, the information will be updated," he noted.

Earlier, Kuleba said Ukraine was ready to send a large group of rescue workers to Türkiye, without providing details as to the number of personnel that would be sent.

“Ukraine stands ready to send a large group of rescue workers to Türkiye to assist in the crisis response. We are working closely with the Turkish side to coordinate their deployment,” he said on Twitter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also voiced Kyiv’s readiness to provide “the necessary aid to overcome the results of the disaster” in a statement on Twitter, further extending his condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish people.

At least 3,381 people were killed and 20,426 others injured in 10 provinces of Türkiye after two strong earthquakes on Monday jolted the southern part of the country, an official from Türkiye’s disaster agency AFAD said Tuesday.

Early Monday morning, a 7.7 magnitude tremor struck the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province, then about nine hours later, a 7.6 magnitude quake centered in Kahramanmaras’ Elbistan district rocked the region, affecting several other provinces.

The earthquakes were also felt in several countries in the region, including Lebanon and Syria.​​​​​​​