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Sabina Mammadli

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Azerbaijani rescuers have saved 51 people and pulled out the bodies of 655 people from the rubble in quake-hit areas of Türkiye, Azernews reports, citing the Emergency Situations Ministry.

Moreover, a total of 100 volunteers from among the Azerbaijani youth are also providing assistance to the victims of the natural disaster. The volunteers are actively involved in setting up a tent camp for the victims, providing them with food and medical supplies, as well as accepting and sorting humanitarian aid at the headquarters of the Turkish Youth Foundation and the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation in Turkiye’s Kahramanmaras. The Azerbaijani volunteers with medical education are also involved in providing primary medical care to the local population and psychological support for children.

Search and rescue operations involving special equipment, as well as specially trained dogs, are underway.

In a similar vein, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Azerbaijan has mobilized cargo planes for aid dispatch. He elaborated that Azerbaijani cargo planes are mainly carrying tents and containers.

"Azerbaijan has mobilized its cargo planes. We thank the fraternal country for this. Currently, 23,878 tents have been imported into the country. Another 9,000 tents will be brought during the day," Cavusoglu added.

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 time of writing, the death toll in Turkiye was 31,643.

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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