Feb 09: Following the massive earthquake that struck Türkiye and Syria on 6 February 2023, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi directed that all possible assistance be extended to the affected people.
In pursuance of this, Operation Dost was launched to provide necessary support in terms of search and rescue (SAR) efforts as well as medical assistance. This has involved a whole-of-government approach with coordination among various agencies. This swift response led to the first C-17 IAF aircraft with a specialized SAR team leaving for Türkiye within hours of a request for assistance being received.
Since then, India has been able to send more than 250 personnel, specialized equipment and other relief material amounting to more than 135 tons to Türkiye on 5 C-17 IAF aircraft.
These include three self-sustained teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) numbering more than 150 specially trained personnel, along with dog squads, specialized equipment, vehicles and supplies. Their equipment allows for the detection, location, access and extrication of people trapped under collapsed structures.
In addition, personnel and equipment have been sent to set up a 30-bed self-sustained field hospital of the Indian Army. This includes a team of 99 specially trained personnel, with essential medicines, advanced equipment, vehicles and ambulances. The hospital will provide a fully functional Operation Theatre, and facilities such as X-rays, ventilators, etc.
The deployment of our teams in Türkiye is being coordinated with the local authorities through our Embassy, which has set up a Camp Office at Adana. The NDRF teams are rendering assistance in rescue operations at Gaziantep while the medical team is setting up the Field Hospital in Iskenderun. A team of officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, two of which are Turkish-speaking officers, have been deployed to Türkiye to assist the teams involved in rescue and relief operations.
Our Embassy is also ascertaining the well-being of Indian nationals in the affected region, particularly in Adana, Gaziantep, Malatya and Kahramanmaras provinces of Türkiye, which have been the most affected due by the earthquake. Embassy has also set up a Help Desk. While serious logistical constraints such as road conditions, inclement weather and the ongoing rescue operations limit options, our officials are reaching out to some ten Indian nationals who are reportedly stranded. Efforts are also ongoing to trace a missing national.
As regards Syria, more than 6 tons of emergency relief assistance has been delivered through a C130J IAF aircraft to Damascus. The consignment includes medicines for emergency use, fluids for hydration, protective gear, general-use medicines and medical equipment like an ECG machine, patient monitor etc. The consignment was received by the Deputy Minister of Local Administration and Environment of Syria, H.E. Mr Moutaz Douaji at Damascus airport.
India stands committed to extending all possible support to those affected by this devastating earthquake. Operation Dost is India’s latest expression of being a first responder, a net security provider, and a country whose Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) response is quick and available to countries not only in the neighbouring region but also beyond.
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