Chinese rescue team heading for earthquake-stricken areas in Türkiye

HANGZHOU, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese non-governmental rescue team set off from an east China airport Tuesday morning to join earthquake relief efforts in Türkiye.

The team of eight earthquake relief experts from the Rescue Team of Ramunion, based in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, is expected to arrive in earthquake-stricken areas in Türkiye Wednesday afternoon.

More than 4,000 people were killed and tens of thousands injured after strong earthquakes jolted parts of Türkiye and neighboring Syria on Monday. A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Türkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT), followed by a magnitude 6.4 quake a few minutes later in the country's southern province of Gaziantep and a magnitude 7.6 earthquake at 1:24 p.m. local time (1024 GMT) in Kahramanmaras.

He Jun, captain of the team, said before departure that they would use advanced radar life detectors, demolition and rescue equipment, and a search and rescue dog for the mission.

"After arrival, we will cooperate with local teams and other international rescue forces, to rescue life from rubble as quickly as possible," He Jun said.

Founded in 2008, Ramunion is a professional rescue team specializing in emergency response to disasters and accidents. Its members have taken part in a total of 287 international and domestic rescue missions, including earthquake relief missions in Nepal, Pakistan and Indonesia.