EU mobilizes 36 rescue teams for quake-stricken Türkiye

EU flags are seen outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

The teams are comprised of around 1,500 rescue and medical personnel as well as 100 search and rescue dogs.

BRUSSELS, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- As of Wednesday morning, 20 European Union (EU) member states and three countries participating in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism had offered to send a total of 36 rescue and medical teams to earthquake-stricken Türkiye, Janez Lenarcic, European commissioner for crisis management, said here on Wednesday.

The teams are comprised of around 1,500 rescue and medical personnel as well as 100 search and rescue dogs, he said.

EU protection teams have also been deployed to assist with coordination, he added.

A survivor is evacuated from the rubble of a destroyed building in quake-hit Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Türkiye activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which is designed for any country in Europe and beyond to request assistance from the EU member states in case of need, after a powerful earthquake struck the southern part of the country on Monday.

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Türkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT) on Monday, 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.

People search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in the town of Demsarkho of Latakia province, northwestern Syria, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

Türkiye's southern province of Hatay and Syria's northern city of Aleppo suffered the heaviest loss of lives. Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus also felt the tremor.

The EU received a second request from Türkiye on Wednesday morning. Ankara asked for tents, blankets and heaters, according to Lenarcic.

Syria also activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism on Wednesday morning, requesting assistance for their own search and rescue services, as well as medical and food items, Lenarcic said. The EU member states have been encouraged to respond favorably to Syria's requests.