Pakistan dispatches humanitarian aid to quake-hit Turkiye

ISLAMABAD: On the instructions of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, a special plane carrying humanitarian assistance left for Turkiye Monday night, ARY News reported.

According to a statement, a C-130 plane that was carrying a search and rescue team of the army left the Chaklala airbase for the earthquake-affected areas in Turkiye.

While on February 7, a Pakistan International Airlines plane carrying 50 people and 15 tonnes of assistance would leave for Turkiye. The team will include personnel of Rescue 1122.

A C-130 flight will also take 15 tonnes of humanitarian aid from Lahore to Istanbul. The assistance will include winter tents, blankets, and other essential items.

From February 8, every day on a PIA flight 15 tonnes of humanitarian assistance will be sent from Islamabad and Lahore to Istanbul and Syria.

Teams from the Ministry of Health and army medical corps will also depart for the two earthquake devastated countries.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif decided to pay a visit to the earthquake-hit Turkiye on Wednesday (February 8).

Sources said that PM Sharif will be accompanied by FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during his foreign visit. The premier will visit the quake-hit areas. He will also visit Ankara and meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It is pertinent to mention here that more than 1,400 people were killed and thousands injured when a huge earthquake struck central Turkyie and northwest Syria, pulversing apartment blocks and heaping more destruction on Syrian cities already devastated by years of war.

The magnitude 7.8 quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, worst to strike Istanbul this century. It was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon. It was followed in the early afternoon by another large quake, magnitude 7.7.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said the quake struck at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) near the southern Turkiye’s city of Kahramanmaras, while the EMSC monitoring service said the chance of a tsunami risk was being evaluated.