A delegation of 25 first responders and search and rescue specialists from Israel’s United Hatzalah arrived in Turkey on Tuesday.
The relief expedition will help with search and rescue efforts and offer medical aid in the wake of Monday’s tremors.
Vice President of Operations for United Hatzalah Dov Maisel said, “As soon as we learned about the scope of the catastrophe unfolding in Turkey, it was apparent that we would send a team there to contribute to the relief effort.”
“The earthquakes have caused a tremendous amount of damage. According to Maisel, the charter flight would also transport 10 tons of supplies. “We are bringing all of our expertise and personnel from previous experiences responding to disasters to assist with the rescue efforts,” he added.
According to the most recent statistics, the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday and its aftershocks killed more than 6,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
After landing, the expedition will go by land to the scene of the worst damage, where it will set up a command center and field clinics, start providing medical assistance, and start freeing people who are buried beneath the wreckage.
In collaboration with the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Israeli embassy in Ankara, Sun D’Or, an El Al-owned subsidiary airline, and United Hatzalah organized the chartered flight.
Sun D’Or CEO Gal Gershon stated, “Building on our previous collaboration in Ukraine and following the Surfside condominium collapse [in Florida], Sun D’Or took urgent arrangements to charter a flight when United Hatzalah CEO Eli Pollack turned to us to coordinate a relief mission to Turkey.
“We are proud of this mission and certain that it will significantly contribute to saving lives and delivering assistance in disaster-stricken places,” they said. “We feel a moral duty to provide our help to anyone who is in distress.”
Israel's @UnitedHatzalah arrives in Turkey 'to assist wherever is necessary' after the earthquake
'We heard about people who are yelling inside the collapse — let's hope we will achieve our first goal, to save lives,' says Linor Attias pic.twitter.com/0Of1hy2w0p
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) February 7, 2023
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