To assist those affected by the devastating earthquake and participate in efforts to find survivors under the rubble
Tunisian authorities on Tuesday dispatched two aid shipments and two relief teams to Türkiye and Syria, as part of international relief efforts for the victims of the violent earthquake and to participate in efforts to search for survivors under the rubble.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit parts of both countries at dawn on Monday, killing 4,544 and injuring 26,751 in Türkiye, as well as 1,559 dead and 3,648 injured in Syria, according to an unreported report. yet confirmed.
Tunisia’s Civil Protection official, General Tarek Oueslati, said in a statement: “On the instructions of the President of the Republic (Kaïs Saïed), two teams have been formed to search for the victims of the devastating earthquake who are still under the rubble, as part of two separate missions in Syria and Türkiye.”
Regarding the details, he explained that “the team sent to Türkiye, for a mission that should take 7 days, is composed of 41 members accompanied by 4 dogs, and they have been provided with all the technological equipment for the search for victims under the rubble, including drones.”
“The Syria Relief Team is made up of 20 members and is equipped with the same state-of-the-art equipment to help with search and rescue operations,” he added.
Present on the airport tarmac, the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye in Tunis, Çağlar Fahri Çakıralp, thanked the Tunisian government and people for this outpouring of solidarity.
Tunisian Interior Minister Taoufik Charfeddine said: “Today, two military planes were dispatched to the Turkish and Syrian peoples, carrying two shipments of essential materials and skills required for such tasks”, according to the local radio (private) Mosaïque.
Regarding the nature of the aid, Social Affairs Minister Malek Ezzahi explained, in a statement on the same radio, that the two planes were each carrying “food, blankets, and medicine, in addition to a rescue team from the Civil Protection and a medical team from the Ministry of Health.”
