ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani military search and rescue team left for Turkey on Monday night, the Prime Minister's Office has said, as the death toll from a deadly earthquake that rocked wide swaths of Turkey early in the morning crossed 1,6500.
In Turkey, the death toll stood at 1,651, the national disaster agency said, already the highest death toll from an earthquake in Turkey since 1999, when a tremor of similar magnitude devastated the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, killing more than 17,000.
At least 968 people were killed in Syria, according to figures from the Damascus government and the United Nations. The Norwegian Refugee Council said the earthquake would only add to the suffering of millions of Syrians already enduring a humanitarian crisis due to an 11-year-long civil war.
The Pakistani PM’s Office said the National Disaster Management Authority had coordinated an action plan under which a military plane would depart at 10 pm on Monday night, “carrying Army's Search and Rescue Team, directly to Turkiye earthquake area.”
“In early morning tomorrow 7 Feb, a PIA flight space for 50 individuals and 15 ton load is available to carry Rescue 1122 team to Turkiye,” the statement said.
Another military plane will also fly out to Istanbul on Tuesday carrying seven tonnes of cargo, including winterized tents, blankets and other articles.
“From 8 Feb onwards we will have 15 ton cargo space on daily PIA flights (alternatively from Islamabad and Lahore) to Turkiye and Syria. We will push follow up cargo loads and medical teams (from Army and Ministry of Health) to both countries," the statement said.
Hundreds are still believed to be trapped under rubble across the two nations, and the toll is expected to rise as rescue workers searched mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the area.
Pakistani Prime Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone call with President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday afternoon and “conveyed heartfelt condolences over loss of precious lives and property.”
The Pakistan Embassy in Ankara said “assistance teams” from Pakistan would reach Turkey “very soon.”
Erdogan has said 45 countries had offered to assist with search and rescue efforts.
