UPDATE - Caucasus, Central Asian countries lend vital support after Türkiye quakes

UPDATES WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION; LATEST CASUALTY COUNT

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus are lending critical support for Türkiye’s ongoing earthquake relief efforts, sending hundreds of rescue and medical personnel, along with essential equipment and supplies.

According to the latest official figures, more than 16,100 have been killed and over 64,100 injured after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes struck 10 southern Turkish provinces within the space of a few hours on Monday, affecting around 13 million people.

More than 113,200 search and rescue teams are engaged in non-stop search and rescue efforts, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).

Over 5,700 rescuers from other countries are helping out in the disaster area, AFAD said, including teams from Central Asian and Caucasus countries.

- Azerbaijan

At least 725 rescue personnel from Azerbaijan have traveled to Türkiye’s Kahramanmaras region, along with a range of relief equipment and supplies.

They have saved at least 44 people, including nine children, and recovered 164 bodies, the Azerbaijani Emergency Situations Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Azerbaijani medical personnel, in cooperation with the Turkish Health Ministry and military, have performed 10 surgical operations in the affected areas, and examined 98 earthquake victims, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a separate statement.

The ministry also announced it has set up collection points where military personnel and their families can donate relief goods to be sent to Türkiye.

Since Monday, Azerbaijan has sent seven planes carrying personnel and humanitarian aid to Türkiye, according to the state news agency Azertac.

Twenty truckloads of humanitarian aid were also sent for quake victims on Wednesday, carrying tents, beds, power generators, clothing, tables, chairs, towels, and other supplies.

- Kazakhstan

A second group of rescuers carrying equipment traveled to Türkiye’s Gaziantep region to take part in search and rescue operations, the Kazakh Emergency Situations Ministry announced on Thursday.

Among the rescuers, 15 are from Karaganda, while 18 from the Akmola region, who will join 100 Kazakh personnel already present in the country.

Kazakh rescuers in the Kahramanmaras region pulled out 22 bodies from the rubble, the ministry said in a statement, adding that doctors and psychologists are helping the relatives of the victims.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has instructed the government to allocate $1 million for emergency assistance to Türkiye, the presidential press service said on Wednesday.

Tokayev later visited the Turkish Embassy in Astana, where he expressed his condolences and pledged that Kazakhstan will provide “all-round assistance to Türkiye.”

- Uzbekistan

More than 100 Uzbek rescuers are working in Ovakent, Hatay province, the Emergency Situations Ministry said on Thursday.

They have saved 13 people from the rubble and recovered the bodies of 38 victims, the ministry said.

It said another plane with humanitarian aid arrived in Hatay, adding: “Medics of Defense Ministry of Uzbekistan, medicines, emergency supplies and special equipment were delivered to the disaster zone.”

Another 71-member search and rescue team arrived in Gaziantep on Thursday on board an aircraft carrying more humanitarian aid, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the Turkish Embassy in Tashkent, where he expressed his condolences to the Turkish people and said that Uzbekistan is ready to provide all necessary assistance.

Later in the day, Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov also visited the Turkish Embassy and wrote a message in its book of condolences, the Foreign Ministry said.

- Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz rescue workers pulled out 22 bodies in the Kahramanmaras region, the country’s Emergency Situations Ministry said on Thursday.

According to the statement, the head of the 63-member Kyrgyz team said rescuers are working constantly, with psychologists and doctors providing psychological and medical assistance to citizens whose relatives have died.

Separately, the Foreign Ministry said it evacuated 22 of its citizens from the earthquake zone in Türkiye.

In a statement on Thursday, the Kyrgyz presidency said two aircraft with tents, shelter supplies, a mobile hospital, 100 rescuers, and two search dogs will soon be sent to Türkiye.

The humanitarian aid also includes medical supplies, clothing, and other essentials.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov visited the Turkish Embassy in Bishkek on Thursday to express his condolences.

- Turkmenistan

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Turkmenistan’s ex-president and current chairman of its People’s Council, visited the Turkish Embassy in Ashgabat to convey his condolences, Türkiye’s Ambassador Togan Oral tweeted on Wednesday.

​​​​​​​- Tajikistan

A team of 50 Tajik rescuers arrived in Türkiye’s Kahramanmaras region early Thursday.

“Rescuers brought with them the necessary rescue equipment designed to carry out search operations and save victims,” said a statement by the Tajik Emergency Situations Committee.

This is the first time that rescuers from the committee have traveled abroad to provide assistance and participate in disaster relief efforts, the statement said.

- Georgia

A team of 100 rescue workers from Georgia participated in search and rescue efforts in the Adiyaman region in southern Türkiye.

The Interior Ministry said rescuers pulled out a survivor on Wednesday night, noting that the injured person was then taken to a medical facility.

The team was initially made up of 60 firefighters and rescuers, but later bolstered with 40 more personnel.

Georgia’s Parliament will launch an aid campaign for earthquake victims in Türkiye, according to Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

A special bank account has been set up for donations that will be used to buy necessary relief supplies, he said late on Wednesday.