Pak sends relief material to quake-hit Turkiye

Pakistan on Tuesday dispatched the first batch of relief items to Turkiye to help the countrys rescue efforts following a powerful earthquake that has killed over 6000 people in the region.The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkiye and Syria early on Monday, resulting in the death of 6,200 people.

Pakistan on Tuesday dispatched the first batch of relief items to Turkiye to help the country's rescue efforts following a powerful earthquake that has killed over 6000 people in the region.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkiye and Syria early on Monday, resulting in the death of 6,200 people. The death toll is expected to rise.

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb tweeted that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will depart for Turkiye on Wednesday to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and express condolences over the loss of lives.

Shehbaz, in a meeting with cabinet members, said Turkiye had helped Pakistan during last year's catastrophic flooding.

"I am visiting Turkiye tomorrow to visit the affected areas. Apart from dispatching relief items, I also sent teams to aid the rescue efforts," he said.

Shehbaz launched a special relief fund and urged people to donate to support earthquake victims in Turkiye, according to a statement by the Prime Minister's Office.

It stated that the federal cabinet had decided to contribute one month's salary to the fund while it was decided that grade 18-22 officers would also contribute a day's salary.

The prime minister said Pakistan would also help Syria.

"24 hours after the devastating earthquake hit Turkiye & Syria, scenes of death and destruction are mind-numbing. It breaks the heart to witness the sheer scale of unfolding human tragedy," Shehbaz said in a tweet.

As part of an effort to provide timely relief, the first batch of relief items from Pakistan reached Turkiye on Tuesday morning, a Pakistan Air Force spokesperson said.

"Pakistan Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft carrying members of search and rescue teams and blankets from PAF Base Nur Khan has landed in Turkiye," according to the statement.

Separately, the army in its statement said that two contingents of urban search and rescue team, comprising rescue experts, sniffer dogs, search equipment and a medical team comprising army doctors, nursing staff and technicians along with 30 bedded mobile hospital, tentage, blankets and other relief items had been dispatched to Turkiye.

Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said a Pakistan International Airline (PIA) airplane was going with a 51-member rescue team to Istanbul.

"PK-707 will depart from Lahore for Istanbul with the Pakistani rescue team and their special equipment," he tweeted.

The delivery of relief goods has been made cost-free on all PIA flights to Istanbul and Damascus, the minister said, adding that relief items can be delivered to PIA's cargo terminal through the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), a leading national body to deal with disasters.

Turkiye's emergency management agency has said the total number of deaths in the country had passed 4,500, with some 26,000 people injured.

The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed over 800, with some 1,400 injured, according to the Health Ministry.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)