Iran sends another aid consignment to quake-hit Turkey

Pirhossein Kolivand, who was speaking to reporters on Monday, said the society took steps to send search and rescue teams as well as necessary equipment and supplies to areas of Turkey and Syria hit by the recent deadly earthquake.

“Today, we sent another plane [carrying aid] to Turkey with the assistance of the [Iranian] Air Force,” he added.

Magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday, toppling thousands of buildings and injuring tens of thousands of people. As many as 5.3 million people in Syria may need shelter, the UN Refugee Agency said, and the number of fatalities in both countries continues to rise.

A week since the most devastating earthquakes in recent history, workers in Turkey and Syria were searching for signs of life in freezing temperatures as the death toll surpassed 36,000 and survivors expressed frustration about the rescue efforts.

The tremors have killed at least 31,643 people in Turkey as of Monday and the confirmed death toll in Syria is 4,614.

The IRCS head said the Iranian relief and rescue team includes 50 individuals and a number of doctors.

Kolivand added that from the very first day, Iran's relief teams have managed to rescue people alive from under the rubble by using rescue and search dogs and search devices.

He noted that the search and rescue teams are removing the debris in search of many people from under the rubble to save their lives.

The IRCS has also built field hospitals both in Syria and Turkey, the Iranian official said.

Iran has so far dispatch six batches of humanitarian aid to crisis-ridden Syria.

MNA/PR