Search and rescue operations continue after M7.7 earthquake hits Malatya, Türkiye, February 6, 2023. /CFP
Countries including China, the U.S. and those in the Middle East have pledged assistance to Türkiye and Syria after powerful earthquakes rocked large swathes of areas along the Turkish-Syrian border.
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Live updated: Rescue efforts underway after a powerful earthquake jolted Türkiye and Syria
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent messages of condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over strong earthquakes in the two countries.
Chinese NGO Ramunion, a team of volunteers specializing in emergency rescue missions, sent its first international search and rescue team on Tuesday morning from its base in east China's Hangzhou to the most-affected regions in Türkiye, according to China Media Group.
Expected to reach Türkiye on Wednesday, the team comprises eight earthquake rescue experts with international rescue experiences. They carry advanced radar life-search instruments, demolition and rescue equipment, and a search and rescue dog.
U.S. President Joe Biden promised Erdogan on Monday that the U.S. will send "any and all" aid needed to help recover from the devastating earthquakes.
Swiss experts and rescuers with service dogs prepare to fly to the earthquake-hit Türkiye, at Zurich Airport, Switzerland, February 6, 2023. /CFP
European countries have also expressed their sympathy and dispatched rescue teams to Türkiye and Syria.
Early on Monday, the European Commission said teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania had been sent to the earthquake-stricken areas.
"Speed is of the essence because so many people are still trapped under the rubble," said EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic. "The rescue teams will continue to work for as long as necessary."
Other European countries have offered help with logistical information, seismic expertise and equipment as well as to house people displaced by the disaster.
Leaders across the European Union have expressed their solidarity with the areas hit by the massive quakes.
In Greece, the closest EU member state to the areas impacted by the quake, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he was "heartbroken" by the televised scenes from the affected areas.
Iran, Israel and other Middle Eastern countries also joined the international efforts. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi sent two separate messages to Erdogan and al-Assad after the earthquakes, expressing Tehran's readiness to provide immediate rescue and relief aid to the two countries.
Israel also said it has dispatched two rescue teams to Türkiye and sent rescue equipment to Syria.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah also offered condolences to the victims of the earthquakes in Syria and Türkiye, noting that he has ordered to send 55 rescue and safety specialists as well as four tracing dogs to "help authorities in Türkiye deal with the consequences of the earthquakes."
A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Türkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 a.m. It was followed by a magnitude-6.4 quake a few minutes later in the country's southern province of Gaziantep and a magnitude-7.6 earthquake at 1:24 p.m. in the Kahramanmaras Province.
Buildings were leveled, bridges collapsed and other essential infrastructure destroyed. Hours after the quake, rescue workers were still finding survivors in the rubble.
Erdogan announced a seven-day national mourning following the deadly earthquakes. Officials said they expected the death toll to continue to rise in the coming days.
(With input from agencies)