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Sabina Mammadli

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Azerbaijan has evacuated a total of 10 children, six boys, and four girls, from quake-hit areas in Turkiye, Head of the Health Organization Department of Health Ministry Aynura Zeynalova said.

A. Zeynalova emphasized that among the children, twelve adults, making up six families in total, arrived in Azerbaijan, where they were taken to medical institutions on February 10.

"The youngest was born eight days ago, and the oldest is 14 years old. The persons admitted to the Pediatric Research Institute were placed in the wards designated for them, and complex laboratory and instrumental examinations have begun, which are already nearing completion," the official noted.

In this regard, representatives of the ministry visited patients who are being treated at the Institute of Pediatrics and inquired about their state of health and the rehabilitation process.

She added that upon completion of the checkups, the children, together with their parents, will be placed in a social shelter under Azerbaijan’s Labor and Social Protection Ministry.

Further, the official recalled that in accordance with the instructions of the Azerbaijani president, medical institutions located in Baku and other cities, as well as in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, were prepared in advance for the treatment of victims of the earthquake in Turkiye. For this purpose, 2,000 beds have been allocated in medical institutions.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reports that on January 6, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit central Turkiye. The epicenter of the earthquake was 26 kilometers off Gaziantep with a population of about 1.06 million. The earthquake's epicenter was located 7 km below the surface. According to Turkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, three more earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.4 to 6.6 shook the province of Gaziantep in southeastern Turkiye.

At the moment of writing, the death toll in Turkiye is 31,643 with 93,000 injured.

Azerbaijan was the first country to provide assistance to Turkiye immediately after the earthquake.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations is continuing to send humanitarian aid and rescuers to Turkiye.

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Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SabinaMmdl

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