(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 7. Azerbaijan
demonstrates solidarity with fraternal Türkiye in the elimination
of the consequences of the devastating earthquake that occurred on
February 6, 2023 in the province of Kahramanmaras and adjacent
regions of Türkiye, trend reports via the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry.
According to the ministry, following the instructions of
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, in order to support the
search and rescue operations carried out in the earthquake area, on
February 6, the rapid response rescue forces of the Ministry of
Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, numbering 420 people, with
appropriate equipment and search and rescue dogs, was sent to
Türkiye and has already begun search work.
Besides, in order to eliminate the consequences of the
earthquake, mobile field hospitals of the Ministry of Emergency
Situations, provided with the necessary medical equipment and
supplies, as well as a group of 41 specialists, have already been
sent to Türkiye.
Following the instructions of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham
Aliyev, the group of military medical specialists of the
Azerbaijani army, consisting of 10 military doctors and eight
assistants, is in the disaster area in Türkiye.
In order to identify and evacuate Azerbaijani citizens affected
by the earthquake, operational headquarters are functioning in the
Azerbaijani Embassy in Türkiye, consulate generals in Istanbul and
Kars.
Based on the appeals of citizens received by hotline, a list of
Azerbaijani citizens who settled or temporarily reside in the
provinces affected by the earthquake (Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Adana,
Malatya, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Sanliurfa, Kilis, Osmaniye,
Diyarbakir, Elazig and Mersin) is compiled.
Citizens wishing to evacuate to Azerbaijan are provided with
accommodation in buses allocated for this purpose.
To ensure that adverse weather conditions do not create
obstacles to the evacuation process, negotiations are underway to
eliminate these restrictions with Turkish government agencies.
Today, starting from 15:00 (GMT+4), evacuation buses will start
running to Azerbaijan from the bus stations of the Turkish
provinces of Kahramanmaras, Malatya, Gaziantep and Adana. At the
first stage, the evacuation of students studying in Türkiye and
persons in need of urgent assistance will be carried out.
At present, a group of employees of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in
Türkiye and the military attache at the embassy has been sent to
the earthquake-affected regions to ensure the implementation of the
evacuation process by land.
Azerbaijani citizens who are in one of the 10 above regions and
wish to be evacuated should call at +90 536 459 40 35, +90 536 471
55 68, +90 501 031 80 80, +90 552 627 92 94 and +90 532 254 19
33.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 has hit southeastern
Türkiye on Feb. 6, 2023. The earthquake occurred at a depth of
seven kilometers in the Pazarcik region of Kahramanmaras Province.
The provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Malatya,
Adiyaman, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana and Kahramanmaras were
subjected to severe destruction.
The quake's epicenter was located 26 km away from the city of
Gaziantep with a population of about 1.06 million.
Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said that
three more earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.4-6.6 rocked Gaziantep
province in south-eastern Türkiye. As a result of the earthquake
that hit Türkiye, strong tremors were also felt in Syria, Lebanon,
Egypt, and Cyprus.
According to the latest data, as a result of the earthquake,
3,549 people were killed, 22,168 people were injured, and 5,775
buildings were destroyed.