Brussels, 7 (EFE).- NATO announced this Tuesday that it has sent to Turkey more than 1,400 members of the emergency services from member countries and partners of the organization, including Finland and Sweden invited to join it, to help in the rescue tasks and attention to the population after the earthquakes registered on Monday.
The Atlantic Alliance said in a statement that more than 20 allied and partner countries have deployed these emergency personnel to Turkey with the aim of “helping respond to the devastating earthquakes” that shook the south of the country and northern Syria yesterday.
He specified that there are currently “more than 53,000 Turkish first responders” on the ground, and that NATO allies and partners are providing “different forms of assistance”, including search and rescue teams with specially trained dogs, firefighters and personnel. structural engineering, medical personnel and supplies, and seismic experts.
“In these terrible moments, we stand in solidarity with our ally Turkey and with all those affected,” said Alliance spokesperson Oana Lungescu, adding that NATO countries “are ready to provide more help to those who need it.”
The organization is deploying its assistance through NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center (EADRCC), which is the Alliance’s main civil emergency response mechanism in the Euro-Atlantic area.
This center is active all year round, works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and all NATO Allies and partner countries participate in it, the organization explained.
Specifically, it works as an information exchange system to coordinate both requests and offers of help, mainly in the event of natural or man-made catastrophes.
The flags of the 30 NATO allies, as well as the NATO flag, will fly at half-mast at its headquarters in Brussels from today until sunset tomorrow, Wednesday, in honor of the victims and in solidarity. with Turkey, the Alliance reported.
At least 6,376 people have died and more than 30,570 have been injured in Turkey and Syria due to the two devastating earthquakes on Monday, as rescue efforts continue with fears that there are still hundreds or thousands of people trapped under the rubble.
In Turkey, where the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude tremors had their epicenter, the official tally already speaks of 4,544 deaths and 26,721 injuries, according to Afad, the Turkish emergency agency.
Faced with this catastrophe, the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a three-month state of emergency in the ten affected provinces.
So far, 435 less intense aftershocks have been recorded in the affected areas where more than 60,000 people are working on rescue and debris removal tasks, in a device that has more than a hundred planes and helicopters deployed.
