UAE establishes field hospital, sends search and rescue teams to Türkiye, Syria

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has announced support for Türkiye and Syria, in the wake of earthquakes that killed scores of people.

Sheikh Mohamed has directed the establishment of a field hospital and the dispatch of a search and rescue team for people affected by the earthquake in Türkiye.

The dispatch of a search and rescue team and the provision of urgent relief supplies and emergency aid to Syria, have also been directed.

I extend my sincere condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives in today’s devastating earthquake. The UAE stands in solidarity with the Turkish and Syrian people, and we pray that God grants a speedy recovery to those who have been injured.

— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) February 6, 2023

The UAE President made two separate phone calls to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Türkiye.

He expressed his condolences and sympathies to the two Presidents, their people, and the families of those affected by the earthquake, official news agency WAM reported.

A strong earthquake of 7.8 magnitude occurred at 4.17am local time, 30 kilometres west, northwest of Gaziantep, and 114 kilometres north-northwest of Aleppo, Syria. This was followed by a second quake that struck Central Turkey at 1:24pm, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

A third earthquake of magnitude 6.0 hit Goksun, Turkey, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

Death toll from earthquakes that battered southern Turkiye crossed 2,900.

#BREAKING Death toll from earthquakes in southern Türkiye rises to 2,921, with 15,834 injuries, says disaster agency pic.twitter.com/tdMh5F2g8y

— ANADOLU AGENCY (@anadoluagency) February 7, 2023