Pakistan dispatches relief goods, medical, rescue teams to quake-hit Turkey

Pakistan has sent relief goods as well as medical and rescue teams to the earthquake-hit areas of Turkey, official statements said on Tuesday.

The Pakistani military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the army has dispatched two contingents including an urban search and rescue team comprising rescue experts, sniffer dogs and search equipment for the quake victims.

The statement added that the army dispatched a medical team of army doctors, nursing staff, technicians, 30 bedded mobile hospital, tents and blankets among other relief items.

The aid contingents have flown to Adana, Turkey, via special Pakistan Air Force aircraft on Monday night to undertake relief efforts for Turkish people while working in close coordination with the Turkish government, armed forces, and the Turkish embassy in Islamabad, the ISPR said.

The statement added that the contingents will stay in Turkey until the completion of relief and rescue operations. A statement from the country’s Prime Minister’s Office said a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane carrying 15 tons of assistance and a 50-member team comprising personnel from the state rescue organization will leave for Türkiye on Tuesday.

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

From Feb. 8, every day a PIA flight with 15 tons of humanitarian assistance will be sent from Pakistan to Turkey and Syria, the statement said, adding that the teams from the ministry of health will also leave for the two countries, where a 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday had killed more than 4,000 people.