China offers aid, rescue teams to Turkey, Syria
By Lin Rui and Ni Tao
People's Daily app
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Beijing (People's Daily) - China is providing emergency humanitarian aid to Turkey and Syria after two 7.8-magnitude earthquakes hit southeast Turkey on Monday, accompanied by multiple strong aftershocks. As of 6:00 am local time on Tuesday, the death toll in Turkey and Syria exceeded 4,800.

A Chinese civilian rescue team departed on Tuesday morning from East China's Zhejiang Province to the worst-hit areas in Turkey.

The RamUnion Rescue team, consisting of eight experienced search-and-rescue specialists with advanced rescue equipment and a rescue dog, is expected to arrive Wednesday at the earliest.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent messages of condolence to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the earthquakes.

Xi expressed deep condolences over the victims and offered sincere sympathies to bereaved families and the injured on behalf of the Chinese government and people.

He said that under the leadership of Erdogan and Bashar, the two governments and their people will surely overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes at an early date.

Civil defense workers and residents search through the rubble of collapsed buildings in the town of Harem near the Turkish border, Idlib province, Syria, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo: AP)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier also extended condolences and expressed sympathies to the bereaved families and wounded.

"We have been closely following the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. We sincerely hope that the Turkish and Syrian people will overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes at an early date," said ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at Monday's routine press briefing.

A man carries the body of an earthquake victim in the Besnia village near the Turkish border, Idlib province, Syria, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo: AP)

Deng Boqing, deputy head of the International Development Cooperation Agency, said on Tuesday that the Chinese government has decided to provide Turkey with 40 million yuan ($5.9 million) in emergency assistance, including sending heavy urban rescue teams and medical teams, and providing Turkey with urgently needed disaster relief materials.

China will also provide Syria with urgently needed disaster relief materials and speed up the implementation of ongoing food aid projects.

A young women removes debris from a destroyed building as she searches for people with emergency teams in Gaziantep, Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo: AP)

The Red Cross Society of China has decided to provide with $200,000 in cash each to the Turkish Red Crescent and the Syrian Red Crescent as emergency humanitarian assistance.

Society President Chen Zhu sent letters of sympathy to the Turkish Red Crescent and the Syrian Red Crescent.

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Li Jiayue, a Chinese soccer star playing for a Turkish team, said on her social media that she and other team members are safe after a successful evacuation in the wake of the earthquake, and are heading to Ankara.


After the earthquake, Chinese internet users swiped their screens to express their sympathy and support for the victims in Turkey and Syria.

Earthquake developments

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey on Monday, the US Geological Service (USGS) said. The quake struck at 4:17 am local time at a depth of about 17.9 kilometers.

Another 7.8-magnitude earthquake jolted southeastern Turkey at 1:24 pm local time Monday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). The epicenter was monitored at 38.0 degrees north latitude and 37.15 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 20 kilometers, the CENC said.

Turkey was struck by a major earthquake in January 2020 a magnitude 6.7 quake that caused significant damage in the eastern part of the country. In 1999, a 7.4 magnitude quake struck near Istanbul and killed an estimated 18,000 people, the Associated Press reported.

Monday's quake hit near heavily populated areas. The epicenter was near Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital in Turkey. The affected regions were also home to vulnerable buildings, AP quoted a USGS structural engineer as saying.

People walk next to a mosque destroyed by an earthquake in Malatya, Turkey, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo: AP)

Rescue efforts have been hampered by freezing temperatures and traffic jams from residents trying to leave quake-stricken areas.

Erdogan said offers of help had been received from 45 countries in the aftermath of Monday's deadly earthquake and powerful, still ongoing aftershocks.

Some 3,000 buildings collapsed in the earthquake, he said.

"Because the debris removal efforts are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will rise," Erdogan said.

Erdogan on Monday declared seven days of national mourning for the victims of the earthquake.

Civil defense workers and security forces carry an earthquake victim as they search through the wreckage of collapsed buildings in Hama, Syria, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo: AP)

The United Nations General Assembly observed a minute of silence on Monday in tribute to the victims of the devastating earthquake.

"Our teams are on the ground assessing the needs and providing assistance," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. "We count on the international community to help the thousands of families hit by this disaster, many of whom were already in dire need of humanitarian aid in areas where access is a challenge."

International community expresses support

US President Joe Biden promised US assistance on Monday.

"I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye and provide any and all needed assistance," the president tweeted from his official account.

Earlier Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram to Erdogan to express his condolences.

In the telegram, made public by the Kremlin, Putin said Russia was ready to "provide the necessary assistance" and offered his "profound condolences on the numerous fatalities and massive destruction caused by a powerful earthquake in your country."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on Monday, saying he was "anguished" and "deeply pained."

"My sincere condolences to the families of the victims," Modi tweeted.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised aid on Monday.

"We are following the news of the earthquake in the Turkish-Syrian border region with shock," Scholz said on Twitter. "Germany will of course send help."

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday his country stood ready to provide emergency aid to Turkey and Syria.

"France is ready to provide emergency relief to the populations on the ground. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families," Macron tweeted.

(Video provided by Tianmu News. Intern Lyv Jinwei contributed to this story)