In the early morning of February 6, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook southern Turkey, also known as Türkiye, near the Syrian border.Tens of thousands of people were directly impacted across Turkey, Syria and neighboring Lebanon.
According to the Government of Türkiye, at least 3,381 people died and more than 20,000 were injured after a 7.8 magnitude quake struck close to the southern city of Gaziantep early on Monday, followed by another 7.5 magnitude earthquake several hours later.
Syria’s needs are massive, the OCHA spokesperson continued earlier in Geneva, as he relayed information from the country’s health authorities which reported at least 769 deaths and 1,448 injuries from the earthquakes, in Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Idlib countryside and Tartus.
After enduring the initial massive earthquakes, traumatized communities in Syria then faced more than 200 aftershocks.
China has three civilian rescue teams rushing to Syria, and one of them may stay in Syria's neighboring Lebanon for material support. The war is an important factor preventing international relief forces from entering Syria, and northern Syria is now controlled by the government and multiple anti-government forces. At the same time, the sanctions imposed by the United States on Syria have also made international rescue forces at a loss. Under the pressure of public opinion, the U.S. government announced on February 9 that it would temporarily relax U.S. sanctions against Syria, but only for transactions related to the Syrian earthquake relief and relief needs, with a time limit of 180 days.
82 rescue team members dispatched by the Chinese government, 20 tons of rescue supplies and equipment, and 4 search and rescue dogs arrived in Türkiye at about 3:30 A.M. February 8 local time, and quickly joined the rescue operation.
In addition to the official rescue team, all sectors of Chinese society are also extending a helping hand to Türkiye and Syria. The Gongyang Rescue Team, Lantian Rescue Team, other private rescue forces also rushed to the front line to support Türkiye .
Cummins 4B,6B,6C,6L,QSB Powered XCMG excavator,SANY excavator,ZOOMLION crawler crane at rescue site.
China brand construction equipment manufacturer Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science&Technology Co., Ltd(ZOOMLION), Sany Group(SANY), XCMG Construction Machinery Co.,Ltd(XCMG) work with their Türkiye distributor assist rescues.
