Iran Ready to Send Emergency Aid to Turkey, Syria after Temblor: President
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi expressed the country’s readiness to provide immediate relief aid for Turkey and Syria in the wake of a devastating earthquake that has struck the two countries.
In separate messages to his Turkish and Syrian counterparts on Monday, the Iranian president offered condolences to the two Muslim nations on the earthquake fatalities.
He also stated that Iran is prepared to send emergency relief aid to the two friendly countries after the tragic incident.
More than 500 people have been killed and some 3,000 others injured in Turkey and Syria after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit southern Turkey early Monday.
Rescuers are now frantically searching for survivors after the powerful quake shook the region, causing multiple aftershocks and sending tremors as far away as Lebanon and occupied Palestine.
The quake struck 23 kilometers east of Nurdagi in Turkey's Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers, and is one of the strongest to hit the region in more than 100 years, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
At least 284 people have died and more than 2,300 others were injured in Turkey, officials said. In neighboring Syria, at least 237 people died and 639 others were injured, state media reported, citing the Health Ministry. USGS estimated the total death toll could reach as high as 10,000 people.
Hospitals in northwest Syra are overwhelmed with patients filling the hallways.
Nearly 1,000 search and rescue volunteers have been deployed from Istanbul to southern Turkey, officials said.
Poor weather, including snow and sub-zero temperatures, is likely to hamper the rescue efforts as a cold and wet weather system moves through the region. Temperatures will drop Tuesday, with the low in Gaziantep expected to fall to -6 degrees Celsius.
