Viet Nam sends soldiers to Turkey for quake rescue mission

Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Tan Cuong asked the Department of Rescue and Disaster Relief to cooperate with relevant entities to deploy the extra forces to Turkey for rescue missions.

The deployed force included military doctors, rescuers and search and rescue dog trainers. Vehicles, modern equipment and drugs were also mobilized.

The defense ministry also announced plans to support the Turkish people with 10 tons of food rations.

As there is no direct flight service between Viet Nam and Turkey, units concerned are working with the Turkish Embassy in Viet Nam and the Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey to arrange a flight carrying the Vietnamese servicemen to the country.

Earlier, on February 9, 24 rescuers and medical workers from the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security flew to Turkey to help search for victims following the devastating earthquakes.

The group begun engaging in search and rescue efforts in the Turkish southeastern city of Adiyaman, which is among localities bearing the brunt of the devastating February 6 earthquake.

On February 11, they began working at the rubble of a building in Adiyaman where the local authorities said 15 people are trapped.

The earthquakes struck the Turkey-Syria region last Monday morning, killing nearly 24,000 people in both countries as of Saturday, and rendering hundreds of thousands homeless. It was the biggest natural disaster to strike the region since 1999, when a similarly powerful quake killed more than 17,000 people in Turkey./.