US sends additional aid for Türkiye quake survivors

The United States is sending an additional tranche of 60 tonnes of aid to Türkiye to help alleviate the needs of earthquake victims, the Turkish embassy in Washington DC has said.

The donations are being transported by an Atlas Air 747-8F plane, with logistical assistance from Turkish Airlines, and fuel from Boeing, the embassy said on Friday.

Sinan Ertay, the deputy chief of mission at the Turkish embassy in Washington, said humanitarian assistance continues to pour in from across the US, especially the Turkish-American community.

“We have sent aid by air before and we continue to send it. We have more relief supplies. We deliver aid from all over the US to Türkiye by planes," he told Türkiye's Anadolu Agency.

The flight departed from Washington Dulles International Airport with tonnes of humanitarian and relief supplies, Atlas Air said in a statement.

“Through our partnership with Turkish Airlines, we are honoured to contribute air freight capacity to deliver critical supplies to this region where they are needed the most,” said John Dietrich, President and Chief Executive Officer, of Atlas Air Worldwide.

“We are moved by the heroic work of first responders and humanitarian organizations to provide relief to the communities impacted by this natural disaster. On behalf of our 5,000 Atlas employees around the world, we are grateful for this opportunity to show our support.”

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Ecuadorians collect tonnes of aid

Tonnes of aid materials were collected in Ecuador for earthquake victims in Türkiye following a relief drive launched by the Turkish Embassy in Quito.

Ecuadorians donated more than 15 tonnes to the embassy and warehouses of Turkish companies Donatella Fruit and Yilport in the cities of Guayaquil and Machala.

The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry and the country’s Disaster and Risk Management Secretariat donated 17 tonnes of materials, consisting of food packages for 2,000 families, 1,000 blankets and 1,546 pairs of boots.

At a ceremony with Isabel Albornoz, Ambassador-Director of Economic Integration and Bilateral Trade Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador, Turkish Ambassador to Quito Basak Yalcin thanked Ecuadorian authorities and the people of the country for showing solidarity and condolence messages.

Albornoz reiterated her country's condolences and noted Türkiye’s helping hand after the 2016 earthquake in Ecuador.

The Embassy in Quito said 32 tonnes collected in Ecuador will be shipped from the Machala Port on February 19 to be sent to Türkiye’s disaster agency, AFAD.

At least 39,672 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on February 6, the country's interior minister said Friday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centred in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig, and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

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